Treasury bars crypto exchange MEXC from US banks

The US Treasury just cut off one of the world's biggest crypto exchanges. On Nov. 6, its financial-crimes unit, FinCEN, ordered US banks to stop handling any money tied to MEXC Global. Treasury says MEXC moved at least $16 billion in illicit funds since 2021. Some of that money is linked to Iran, North Korea, and Russia.

MEXC is a different kind of crypto case. Treasury isn't accusing it of getting hacked. It's accusing the exchange itself of knowingly moving money for sanctioned countries and criminal networks for five years. That's a much bigger accusation. It explains why Treasury reached for one of its harshest tools. It can cut a company off from the US financial system entirely.

Keep reading — what to watch

Will this actually stop MEXC? Not immediately. The exchange has 30 days before the order kicks in. Most of its users and business run outside the US anyway. But the move sends a message to every exchange handling US dollars. Treasury is now treating crypto platforms like banks. It expects the same sanctions screening banks already follow. MEXC could challenge the order, shut down US-linked operations, or just keep operating overseas and absorb the loss. Which path it picks will tell other exchanges how seriously to take their own sanctions screening.