The US Treasury has moved to cut crypto exchange MEXC off from the US financial system.
The Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an order on Friday, 6 November, naming MEXC Global a “primary money laundering concern” in connection with Russian illicit finance. The order bars US financial institutions from processing any transfers to or from the exchange, and takes effect 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register.
FinCEN used powers under the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act, rather than a standard sanctions designation. The move is part of a wider Treasury effort called Operation Economic Outcast.
What FinCEN alleges
FinCEN alleges that between May 2021 and May 2026, MEXC moved at least $16 billion connected to illicit activity, including nearly $1.5 billion linked to Russian sanctions evasion.
It says the exchange carried out $232 million in direct transactions with sanctioned entities, processed about $200 million linked to the Russian rouble-backed A7A5 stablecoin, and handled about $22 million benefiting Iran’s central bank and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
FinCEN also says MEXC dealt with the sanctioned Russian exchanges Garantex and Grinex as recently as June 2026, more than four years after Garantex was first sanctioned. It cited “severe deficiencies” in MEXC’s compliance, despite the exchange’s public claims about its anti-money laundering controls and its bans on users in countries such as Iran and North Korea.
The findings are FinCEN’s own and have not been tested in court.
The exchange
According to FinCEN, MEXC was founded in 2018, processes more than $1 billion in transactions a day, holds about $5 billion in reserves and lists more than 3,000 tokens. It ranks among the top 20 crypto exchanges.
MEXC had not publicly responded to the order at the time of writing.
A wider crackdown
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent framed the move as part of a push against Iran’s use of digital assets to dodge sanctions. “Either you support the Iranian regime, or you have access to the U.S. financial system,” he said.
Last month, the Treasury named Russia’s A7 network a transnational criminal organisation and flagged more than $179 billion in transactions through the A7A5 token. It has also gained powers to sanction anyone operating in Iran’s crypto sector, and has blacklisted Iranian exchange Nobitex.
What happens next
The order comes into force 30 days after publication. MEXC’s response, and whether other exchanges move to cut ties with it before then, will show how far the impact spreads beyond the US banking system.
