---
title: US Treasury Bars American Banks and Crypto Firms From Moving Money to or From MEXC
description: FinCEN's order bars US banks and crypto firms from moving funds to or from MEXC, which Treasury says handled $16 billion tied to Iran, Russia and North Korea.
author: Darie Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
date: 2026-11-10T15:25:47.235Z
updated: 2026-11-10T15:25:47.257Z
canonical: https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/mexc-fincen-order-us-treasury-cuts-off-exchange
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/us-treasury-building-mexc-order-553078.webp
categories: Blockchain
content_type: News
region: United States
publication: Sovereign Magazine
schema_type: Article
---

The US Treasury has ordered American financial institutions to stop sending money to, or receiving it from, MEXC Global, which it ranks among the 20 largest crypto exchanges in the world. Treasury says MEXC facilitated [at least $16 billion in illicit transactions](https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0685) connected to Iranian, North Korean and Russian sanctions evasion and to cybercrime.

Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued the order on November 6. It states that "a covered financial institution is prohibited from engaging in any transmittal of funds from or to MEXC Global," and defines a transmittal of funds as "the sending and receiving of funds, including CVC," FinCEN's term for convertible virtual currency. The ban therefore reaches crypto transfers handled by US-regulated firms as well as bank wires. Treasury says the order is "effectively cutting off MEXC Global's access to the U.S. financial system."

## The Order Has No End Date and Does Not Cover MEXC Offices in the US

[The order](https://www.fincen.gov/system/files/2026-11/MEXC-Section-9714.pdf) takes effect 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register, "with no cessation date." It had not been published as of November 7, so the 30-day period has not yet started. FinCEN keeps the authority to attach conditions to some transfers and to grant exemptions.

The order covers MEXC Global and its subsidiaries, branches, offices and successor entities operating outside the United States, and expressly excludes any MEXC branches, subsidiaries or offices inside the country. A covered institution that willfully violates it, along with its officers, directors, employees and agents, "may be liable for civil or criminal penalties." Existing Bank Secrecy Act duties, including suspicious activity reports, and OFAC sanctions are unchanged.

## Treasury Says MEXC Served Users in Countries It Bars, Including Iran and North Korea

FinCEN says MEXC, founded in 2018, is incorporated in the Seychelles, has no virtual asset service provider license and operates in more than 170 countries. Treasury says it processes more than $1 billion in transactions a day, holds about $5 billion in reserves and offers more than 3,000 cryptocurrencies and tokenized assets.

MEXC's own rules prohibit use by people in certain jurisdictions, including Iran and North Korea. Treasury says "severe deficiencies in its AML controls" let the exchange serve people and entities in those places anyway.

Between May 2021 and May 2026, Treasury says, MEXC handled nearly $1.5 billion linked to Russian sanctions evasion, including $232 million in direct transactions with entities sanctioned by the US, EU and UK, and was still processing transactions with the sanctioned Russian exchange Garantex and its successor Grinex as recently as June 2026. That was more than four years after OFAC designated Garantex in April 2022. The order puts MEXC's business with the two after their designations at about $129 million with Garantex and $4.1 million with Grinex.

On Iran, Treasury says MEXC carried out about $1 billion in direct transactions with more than 40 identified Iranian crypto exchangers and about $22 million for the Central Bank of Iran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its Qods Force. The order also says MEXC helped Sim Hyon Sop, a North Korean money launderer under OFAC sanctions, receive about $350,000 between June and September 2025. FinCEN adds that it "assumes that a portion of MEXC Global's business activities are legitimate."

## Treasury Issued the Order Under a Russian Money-Laundering Law as Part of Its Iran Campaign

The order is part of Operation Economic Outcast, which Treasury began on August 24 at President Trump's direction and describes as "an unprecedented, whole-of-government, economic campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran and its enablers." At the launch, Treasury issued determinations against five sectors it says the Iranian regime relies on: "digital assets, technology, gold, aviation, and shipping."

"Financial institutions cannot have it both ways: Either you support the Iranian regime, or you have access to the U.S. financial system," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. "Treasury will continue to sever the Iranian regime's economic lifelines and thwart its desperate attempts to circumvent U.S. sanctions using digital assets."

FinCEN acted under section 9714(a) of the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act, finding MEXC to be a primary money laundering concern "in connection with Russian illicit finance." FinCEN first used that power in January 2023 against the crypto exchange Bitzlato, which it accused of laundering money for Russia-linked ransomware groups and the darknet market Hydra; that ban took effect on February 1, 2023.

## MEXC Says It Is Operating Normally While NatGold Asks It to Delist Its Token

In a statement posted on X on November 7, MEXC said it "is aware of the order issued by the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) on November 6, 2026, and is reviewing it closely in coordination with our legal and compliance teams." The exchange added: "MEXC is operating normally, and user assets remain secure. We take the concerns raised seriously and intend to engage constructively with FinCEN, as well as other relevant regulators and competent authorities worldwide." MEXC said it has also begun an independent review of its anti-money laundering and sanctions controls.

NatGold Digital, a Coral Gables, Florida, company that issues the NatGold Token (NATG), has already asked MEXC to delist the token "with immediate effect." NatGold, whose subsidiary is registered with FinCEN as a money services business, said on November 7 that it is acting before the order takes effect and is in talks with other exchanges, including some serving the United States, to replace MEXC.

## FAQ

**Q: Which MEXC companies does the order name?**
The order lists current and former MEXC entities including MEXC Global Ltd and MX Global Ltd in the Seychelles, MEXC Estonia OÜ in Estonia, GIDA Technology AG in Switzerland and MXC Global Ltd in the UK, plus MEXC Global Foundation Ltd and MEXC Singapore Pte Ltd, which were formerly incorporated in Singapore. It also covers any successor entities.

**Q: What is a section 9714 order?**
It is a measure FinCEN can take against a foreign financial institution it finds to be of primary money laundering concern tied to Russian illicit finance. In its 2023 guidance on the Bitzlato order, FinCEN said the power is similar to a section 311 action under the USA PATRIOT Act, except that it "can be implemented via order (without accompanying rulemaking)" and can prohibit or put conditions on transmittals of funds.

**Q: What happens if crypto from MEXC reaches a US firm anyway?**
The MEXC order lets covered institutions act "with discretion based on the facts and circumstances of a particular transaction" when crypto from MEXC reaches them despite their efforts to limit that exposure. For the 2023 Bitzlato order, FinCEN said it expected covered financial institutions, "including, but not limited to, convertible virtual currency (CVC) exchangers," to put compliance procedures in place.