Binance to Reject MEXC Transfers Ahead of Dec. 10 Order

By Marcus Bennett

Binance’s Nov. 10 notice puts a compliance barrier before FinCEN’s Dec. 10 order: transfers to MEXC Global will be rejected. For a customer trying to move funds from Binance to MEXC, that is a direct change in the transfer process. The exchange’s restrictions also reach incoming deposits, which will be held for compliance review.

FinCEN alleges that MEXC facilitated $16.7 billion in funds connected to Russian illicit finance and other illicit activity. The agency designated MEXC as a primary money-laundering concern. Its order takes effect Dec. 10 and applies to certain transfers involving covered U.S. financial institutions.

What does this change for Binance customers?

Binance’s notice covers MEXC and named affiliates and related entities. It sets three effects for customers:

• Outgoing transfer requests to MEXC Global, MEXC and named affiliates and related entities will be declined.
• Incoming deposits from those parties will be held for compliance review.
• Customers involved may face account restrictions or offboarding under Binance’s terms.

The notice does not say when the restrictions began. It also gives no review duration and no count of affected accounts or transfers. A customer may therefore have funds received on one side of the platform while an onward transfer remains blocked.

Binance must apply its review process to deposits and decide when an account is restricted or offboarded. Without a published service window, users have no stated timetable for the release of held funds or the completion of an account review.

The order behind the restrictions

The order sets the enforcement backdrop. It alleges a May 2021-through-May 2026 period for the activity described in the $16.7 billion allegation. That is the agency’s account of the relevant period, not a statement about the start date of Binance’s customer restrictions. Binance did not disclose when its own controls began.

FinCEN tied the designation to Russian illicit finance. The order’s stated transfer scope covers certain transfers involving covered U.S. financial institutions. Binance’s customer notice reaches MEXC and named affiliates and related entities. The exchange has not said that its own restrictions wait for the Dec. 10 effective date.

The difference matters because one customer can encounter both controls. An outgoing transfer to a covered party can be declined while an incoming deposit from a covered party enters review. Account restrictions and offboarding can follow under Binance’s own terms.

The enforcement calendar

Three dates matter for customers watching the sequence:

• Nov. 7: MEXC said it was reviewing the order, that operations were normal and that user assets remained secure.
• Nov. 10: Binance publishes its transfer rejection and deposit hold notice.
• Dec. 10: FinCEN’s order takes effect.

Those dates mark two different responses. MEXC described a review of the order and normal operations. Binance chose tighter controls before the formal enforcement date. The contrast matters for users because one platform describes business as usual while the other is adding a compliance checkpoint to specific counterparties.

Binance’s notice does not quantify how many customers, accounts or transfers it affects. It also does not explain how long a compliance review will take. Customers can expect blocks on the covered outgoing transfers and holds on the covered incoming deposits. They cannot expect a published resolution date for either review or account action.

Dec. 10 is the fixed enforcement date, while the timing of Binance’s advance customer restrictions remains undefined.