The U.S. Department of the Treasury has moved to sever crypto exchange MEXC Global from the American financial system after alleging the platform facilitated at least $16 billion in illicit transactions, according to an official Treasury press release.
On Friday, November 6, 2026, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an order under section 9714(a) of the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act as part of Operation Economic Outcast. The order designates MEXC Global a primary money laundering concern in connection with Russian illicit finance and bars U.S. financial institutions from processing any funds transfers to or from the exchange. It takes effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, as detailed in the FinCEN announcement.
Founded in 2018, MEXC is one of the world’s top 20 convertible virtual currency exchangers. As of September 2026, it processed more than $1 billion in daily transactions and maintained approximately $5 billion in reserves while offering access to more than 3,000 cryptocurrencies and tokenized assets, per the Treasury release. Between May 2021 and May 2026, FinCEN said the platform moved at least $16 billion connected to sanctions evasion, cybercrime, and other illicit activity.
Breakdowns cited by Treasury include nearly $1.5 billion in transactions linked to Russian sanctions evasion, of which $232 million involved direct dealings with U.S.-, EU-, and UK-sanctioned entities. MEXC continued processing transactions with the OFAC-sanctioned Russian exchange Garantex and its successor Grinex as recently as June 2026—more than four years after Garantex’s designation. Additional figures include approximately $1 billion in direct transactions with more than 40 Iranian crypto exchangers and about $22 million involving Iran’s Central Bank and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Qods Force. The department also noted almost $200 million tied to the A7A5 stablecoin and related networks.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated in the release: “Financial institutions cannot have it both ways: Either you support the Iranian regime, or you have access to the U.S. financial system.” He added that Treasury would continue severing the Iranian regime’s economic lifelines and countering attempts to circumvent U.S. sanctions via digital assets. FinCEN highlighted “severe deficiencies” in MEXC’s anti-money-laundering controls despite the exchange’s stated policies restricting users from certain jurisdictions.
The order does not modify existing Bank Secrecy Act obligations or OFAC sanctions rules, nor does it freeze customer assets held on the platform. Violations by U.S. institutions may trigger civil or criminal penalties. Coverage from The Block and Cointelegraph confirmed the details and noted that Cointelegraph had sought comment from MEXC without a response by publication. As of Friday, DefiLlama data cited by Cointelegraph showed the exchange holding about $4.48 billion in total assets.
The move extends Treasury’s recent focus on crypto platforms linked to sanctioned jurisdictions, following earlier actions against Iranian exchanges. For traders and investors, the restriction primarily affects dollar banking rails and U.S. counterparties rather than imposing an immediate global shutdown.
