Treasury's FinCEN cuts MEXC Global off from US financial system

The U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has issued an order cutting MEXC Global off from the U.S. financial system, according to a Treasury press release. Treasury said the crypto exchange facilitated at least $16 billion in illicit finance tied to sanctions evasion, fraud and other criminal activity.

Treasury's release states MEXC Global, founded in 2018, is among the top 20 largest convertible virtual currency exchangers, offering trading in more than 50 currencies and access to more than 3,000 cryptocurrencies and tokenized assets. As of September 2026 it processed more than $1 billion in daily transactions and held approximately $5 billion in reserves, the release says.

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Between May 2021 and May 2026, the exchange moved at least $16 billion in funds Treasury links to sanctioned and illicit actors, including nearly $1.5 billion tied to Russia-related activity and $232 million in direct transactions with Garantex, which Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control designated in April 2022. Treasury said MEXC also facilitated $26 million benefiting Grinex as recently as June 2026, and processed almost $200 million connected to a sanctioned stablecoin network used to help clients evade restrictions. Treasury additionally cited about $1 billion in direct transactions with more than 40 identified Iranian exchangers and roughly $22 million for a separately sanctioned entity.

The FinCEN order, issued under section 9714(a) of the Combating Russian Money Laundering authority, takes effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, Treasury said. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the release that the department will keep severing Iran's economic lifelines and blocking sanctions-evasion attempts using digital assets. The release does not state the order's exact issuance date or whether MEXC Global has responded to the allegations, according to Treasury.