Binance Blocks MEXC Transfers After FinCEN's $16B Laundering Order

Binance stopped processing transfers involving MEXC Global and its affiliates on November 10, four days after the US Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network moved to cut the exchange off from the American financial system. A compliance notice published on Binance's support portal instructs customers not to send or receive funds, directly or indirectly, through its platform in connection with MEXC and 12 other named entities or categories linked to the exchange.

The operational impact is immediate. Binance now rejects withdrawals to the listed entities and temporarily withholds deposits arriving from them pending compliance checks. Customers whose incoming funds get flagged can face restrictions on their own accounts during the review, and Binance said it may impose further limits or terminate access to its services under its terms of use.

The covered list spans MEXC Global Limited, MEXC Estonia OÜ, GIDA Technology AG, MXC Global Ltd, MEXC Global Foundation Ltd, MEXC Singapore Pte Ltd and MEXC (Comoros) Ltd, alongside other names and affiliates identified in the notice. Binance set no timetable for completing reviews or releasing withheld deposits.

What does the FinCEN order actually say?

The underlying order came from FinCEN on November 6. It designated MEXC a primary money laundering concern under Section 9714 of the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act, a provision that permits restrictions on foreign financial institutions tied to Russian illicit finance.

The Treasury's press release states that at least $16 billion passed through the exchange between May 2021 and May 2026 in transactions connected to sanctions evasion, cybercrime and other illegal activity involving Russia, Iran and North Korea. That figure anchors the enforcement case: it represents roughly three times MEXC's stated reserves of approximately $5 billion as of September 2026.

US authorities identified further specifics in the same release:

• Roughly $1 billion in direct transfers involving more than 40 Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges, some already sanctioned
• $22 million tied to Iran's central bank and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including its Qods Force
• Daily transaction volume above $1 billion at MEXC

How are the exchanges responding?

MEXC rejected the allegations in a November 7 statement. It said trading services remained operational, customer assets were secure, and it was reviewing the findings with legal and compliance teams while running an independent examination of its anti-money laundering and sanctions controls. Chief executive Vugar Usi later acknowledged elevated withdrawal volumes but said deposits and withdrawals were continuing normally.

Binance is not acting alone. According to crypto.news, OKX chief executive Star Xu warned customers against transferring funds directly from MEXC, saying deposits tied to affected platforms could be frozen and users might face further investigations under enhanced checks.

Binance also stressed that its action does not amount to a global shutdown of MEXC withdrawals: the constraints apply only to transfers routed through Binance involving the named entities. The mechanics matter here. A transfer between venues completes on-chain the moment it is broadcast, but the receiving exchange decides whether the balance ever becomes usable — and Binance has made clear that MEXC-linked deposits will sit in review before anything credits to an account.

What pressure had built before the order?

FinCEN's measure followed months of contraction at MEXC. In October, the exchange said it would discontinue services for customers in Russia and Belarus, giving affected users individual instructions for closing positions and withdrawing assets, with no common deadline announced. The announcement named no specific regulatory order as the reason.

In May, MEXC restricted selected futures trading pairs for users in Russia, Ukraine, Armenia and Belarus, blocking new positions in the affected contracts. In July it appointed Robert MacDonald as chief compliance officer and began a collaboration with LSEG Risk Intelligence to deploy World-Check screening tools.

FinCEN's measure takes effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, giving covered US institutions a defined window to sever their own links to MEXC before mandatory restrictions bind.