Treasury Moves to Cut MEXC Off From U.S. Banks Over $16B in Flows

The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday, November 6, 2026, moved to cut crypto exchange MEXC Global off from the U.S. financial system. Its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an order that bars U.S. financial institutions from sending money to or receiving money from the exchange. Treasury said MEXC handled at least $16 billion in illicit transactions between May 2021 and May 2026.

The order does not take effect right away. According to Treasury, it applies 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register.

What Treasury did

FinCEN acted under section 9714(a) of the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act, according to Treasury. Decrypt noted that this is a different route from a standard sanctions designation. Treasury found MEXC to be "of primary money laundering concern" in connection with Russian illicit finance. Once in force, any U.S. financial institution that handles a transfer of funds from or to MEXC Global could face civil or criminal penalties, the release said.

Treasury described MEXC as a crypto exchange founded in 2018 that ranks among the 20 largest. It said the platform offers more than 3,000 cryptocurrencies and tokenized assets and, as of September 2026, processed more than $1 billion in transactions a day and held about $5 billion in reserves.

The action is part of what Treasury calls Operation Economic Outcast. "Financial institutions cannot have it both ways," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the release. "Either you support the Iranian regime, or you have access to the U.S. financial system."

The numbers Treasury cited

Source: U.S. Treasury press release, November 6, 2026. Treasury tied the $16 billion total and the Iran figures to May 2021–May 2026.

Treasury said MEXC kept processing transactions for the sanctioned Russian exchange Garantex and its successor, Grinex, as recently as June 2026. It also said MEXC's own rules bar users in places such as Iran and North Korea, but that "severe deficiencies" in its anti-money-laundering controls let such transactions through.

How MEXC responded

MEXC said it is operating normally and that user assets remain secure, according to CoinCentral. The exchange said it was reviewing the order with its legal and compliance teams, Coinpedia reported.

What it means for ordinary crypto users

The order bars U.S. financial institutions from handling any transfer of funds to or from MEXC, and 24/7 Wall St. and Coinpedia reported that this includes crypto transfers. It is not an asset freeze by Treasury's sanctions office, and it leaves customer wallets on MEXC intact, 24/7 Wall St. said. The outlet added that U.S. users who cash out through U.S. banks or payment apps could see transfers fail once the ban takes effect.

The case is a reminder that the exchange you pick matters as much as the coin you buy. Our guide on how to buy bitcoin safely explains what to look for in a platform, and what a crypto wallet is covers how to hold coins yourself instead of leaving them on an exchange. Live prices are on our crypto page.

This article is for information only and is not investment advice.