U.S. Treasury Restricts MEXC Transactions After Facilitating $16 Billion in Transfers
Key Facts
On November 6, 2026, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network had issued an order restricting MEXC Global’s access to the U.S. financial system. The order bars U.S. financial institutions from processing money transfers involving the platform, including sending money to it or receiving money from it. Treasury said MEXC facilitated the transfer of at least $16 billion between May 2021 and May 2026. The department linked these flows to sanctions evasion, cybercrime and other illicit activities. The action is based on Treasury’s allegations about transfer routes through the platform, while its implementation date depends on publication of the order in the Federal Register.
Detailing flows linked to Russia, Treasury estimated that about $1.5 billion in transactions was connected to sanctions evasion over the same period. It said this amount included $232 million in direct transactions with entities subject to U.S., European or British sanctions. It added that dealings with sanctioned Russian platform Garantex and its successor Grinex continued until June 2026. The department presents these figures as the basis for an action targeting transfers routed through MEXC. The allegations were not limited to Russia, and also included Iranian and North Korean entities and cybercrime activity.
Treasury said MEXC facilitated about $1 billion in direct transactions with more than 40 Iranian virtual currency platforms between May 2021 and May 2026. It said some of these platforms are subject to U.S. and international sanctions. It also attributed to the platform the facilitation of about $22 million in transactions for the Central Bank of Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Quds Force, entities it described as subject to U.S., European or British sanctions. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent cast the action as part of a policy to target Iranian financial channels, saying institutions “cannot support the Iranian regime while retaining access to the U.S. financial system.” He added that Washington would continue targeting its economic channels.
Treasury data indicate that MEXC was among the 20 largest convertible virtual currency exchanges. The department estimated that it processed more than $1 billion in transactions a day and held reserves of about $5 billion in September 2026. These figures provide a picture of the platform’s scale in the period before the announcement, while the order focuses on money flows to and from U.S. financial institutions. FinCEN said issuing the direct order was “the most appropriate course of action in light of the imminent threats posed by illicit actors.” The order also identified MEXC as a platform registered in Seychelles and covered its subsidiaries, branches and offices outside the United States, as well as entities that may succeed it, while excluding its offices inside the United States.
MEXC said it was reviewing the order in coordination with its legal and compliance teams, and had begun an independent review of its anti-money laundering and sanctions controls. It added that its operations “are proceeding normally, and user assets remain safe,” and that it intended to engage with FinCEN and other regulators. These are the company’s statements in response to the action, which has not yet taken effect under the timeline announced by Treasury. The decision is part of “Operation Economic Outcast,” announced by Bessent on August 24, 2026, to target Iranian financial channels and their facilitators. The order also noted that MEXC had been subject to regulatory scrutiny and warnings from authorities in Hong Kong, Japan and Seychelles.
The order is based on Section 9714(a) of the Russian Anti-Money Laundering Act and prohibits U.S. financial institutions from any money transfer to or from MEXC. The definition of a transfer includes sending and receiving money, including convertible virtual currency. Treasury said the order will take effect 30 days after its publication in the Federal Register, but its statement did not specify a publication date; the published FinCEN copy also leaves the effective date contingent on that timing. The order sets no expiration date, and FinCEN retained authority to impose conditions on certain transfers or grant exceptions to its requirements. The start of the restrictions is therefore tied to the date of official publication, not the date of Treasury’s announcement.