FinCEN, the US Treasury office that fights money laundering, has ordered US banks and other financial firms to stop moving money to or from the crypto exchange MEXC. The order was signed November 6 and starts 30 days after it was published on November 10. It does not freeze accounts on MEXC. But other exchanges are already holding or refusing transfers that come from it.

Key facts

  • Who: FinCEN, part of the US Treasury, and the crypto exchange MEXC Global
  • What: US banks, brokers and money transfer firms are barred from moving funds to or from MEXC
  • When: Signed November 6, 2026; published November 10; starts 30 days after publication
  • How much: At least $16 billion in illicit money moved through MEXC, FinCEN says
  • Source: Federal Register notice

The MEXC FinCEN order is now official. On November 10 the US government published a rule telling American banks and other financial firms to stop sending money to, or taking money from, MEXC Global. It appears in the Federal Register, the government's daily record of new rules.

FinCEN is the Treasury Department office that fights money laundering. It signed the order on November 6 and named MEXC a "primary money laundering concern," CoinDesk reported. MEXC is a large crypto exchange, founded in 2018 and registered in the Seychelles.

What FinCEN says

FinCEN says at least $16 billion in illicit money moved through MEXC between May 2021 and May 2026. About $1.5 billion of that was tied to getting around sanctions on Russia, Decrypt reported. These are the agency's findings, not a court verdict.

What the order does, and what it doesn't

The order covers US banks, brokers and money transfer companies. Once it starts, they may not send or receive funds involving MEXC, and that includes crypto, Bitcoin Magazine reported. It takes effect 30 days after the November 10 publication, which points to December 10.

It is not an account freeze. It doesn't seize anything held on the exchange, and it doesn't tell customers to move their money. MEXC chief executive Vugar Usi said the order "does not freeze or seize any assets held on MEXC," according to TokenPost. He said deposits, withdrawals and trading continue, and that MEXC has started an outside review of its controls.

Why transfers are already getting stuck

Other exchanges aren't waiting for December. Binance said it will decline transfers to MEXC and hold deposits that arrive from it for review, Decrypt reported. OKX founder Star Xu warned users not to send funds straight from MEXC to OKX, saying they could be frozen, TokenPost reported.

So a withdrawal can leave MEXC and still be held at the other end. Anyone moving funds to another exchange should read that exchange's notice about MEXC first.

Expect fake "support" messages

News like this brings out impostors. Watch for emails, texts and direct messages that claim to be MEXC support, a "recovery agent" or a government office. They push you to act fast, or to pay a fee to release your funds. Real support never asks for your password or the secret recovery words for a wallet.

Our guides on wallet support scams and crypto recovery scams show what these messages look like. The next date on the calendar is December 10, when the ban on US firms is due to start.

Sources: Federal Register, Imposition of Special Measure Prohibiting the Transmittal of Funds Involving MEXC Global (published November 10, 2026), CoinDesk, U.S. Treasury moves to cut off crypto exchange MEXC over $16 billion in alleged illicit flows (November 7, 2026), Decrypt, Treasury Cuts Crypto Exchange MEXC Off From US Financial System (November 2026), Decrypt, Binance Halts MEXC Transfers as FinCEN Cuts Exchange Off From US Financial System (November 2026), Bitcoin Magazine, FinCEN Cuts Off MEXC From U.S. Financial System Over Alleged $16B Illicit Flows (November 2026), TokenPost, MEXC Says Deposits, Withdrawals and Trading Continue After FinCEN Order (November 2026), TokenPost, OKX Warns Users Against Direct MEXC-to-OKX Transfers After FinCEN Order (November 2026).