TLDR
- OKX is flagging and reviewing deposits sent directly from MEXC after a U.S. Treasury order.
- OKX founder Star Xu told users to avoid direct transfers from MEXC to OKX.
- FinCEN alleges MEXC processed more than $16 billion in illicit transactions from 2021 to 2026.
- MEXC saw more than $120 million in net outflows in the hours after the U.S. announcement.
- MEXC CEO Vugar Usi says withdrawals are working and the exchange has started a compliance review.
Customers of crypto exchange MEXC are facing holds on their funds when they try to move assets to rival platforms. The problems began after the U.S. Treasury Department took action against the Seychelles-based exchange on Nov. 6.
Users on social media say deposits sent from MEXC to OKX have been flagged and placed under risk review. Many of the affected transfers involved stablecoins.
One user said deposits were frozen “under the vague excuse of coming from a ‘potentially high-risk address.'” The user added, “We are not criminals. We are ordinary crypto users transferring our own assets between exchanges.”
Sorry for the inconvenience. We understand that you may be an innocent user caught up in this situation, and we sympathize with your frustration.
Please avoid transferring funds directly from MEXC to OKX.
OKX treats FinCEN special measures with a level of caution similar to… https://t.co/2CV921sET0
— Star_OKX (@star_okx) November 7, 2026
The Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, issued its order under Section 9714(a) of the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act. The agency named MEXC a primary money laundering concern and called it a “hub for sanctioned actors.”
Officials allege the exchange processed more than $16 billion in illicit transactions between May 2021 and May 2026. This included nearly $1.5 billion tied to Russian sanctions evasion and about $1 billion sent to Iranian exchange services, with activity also linked to North Korea.
The ban on U.S. financial institutions dealing with MEXC will start once the measure is published in the Federal Register. The action does not add MEXC to the Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions list and does not allow the seizure of customer assets.
Today, as part of Operation Economic Outcast, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated eight money services businesses based in Canada that enable the Iranian regime.
Additionally, @FinCENnews issued an order effectively cutting off MEXC Global’s access to the…
— Treasury Department (@USTreasury) November 6, 2026
MEXC already faced pressure in Southeast Asia. The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission warned the public against using the unlicensed platform, and the MEXC app was removed from local app stores earlier in 2026.
OKX Acts Before the Deadline
OKX founder and CEO Star Xu responded to user questions on the social media platform X. “Please avoid transferring funds directly from MEXC to OKX,” he wrote.
Xu said OKX treats FinCEN special measures with caution similar to sanctions. “Under our compliance controls, funds associated with affected platforms may be frozen, and related accounts may be subject to further investigation,” he said.
The FinCEN order includes a 30-day transition period before it takes full effect. Xu said OKX chose to tighten its controls right away instead of waiting for that deadline.
He did not announce a full ban on MEXC. His comments did confirm that automated filters are catching deposits from MEXC-linked wallet addresses.
Some users have raised a different concern. They want to know if interacting with MEXC addresses at any point in the past could put their funds at risk, and so far they have not received a clear answer.
MEXC Says Withdrawals Continue
MEXC CEO Vugar Usi addressed users several hours after Xu’s warning. “I would like to give you my assurance: deposits and withdrawals on MEXC have continued to operate smoothly,” he said.
Usi said withdrawal volumes have increased but that “everything has remained orderly.” Blockchain analytics data showed more than $120 million in net outflows from MEXC in the hours after the U.S. announcement.
Usi said analytics firm Elliptic had briefly given MEXC a higher risk label. He said Elliptic has since moved the exchange back to its standard “Exchange” category.
“We take the concerns raised in FinCEN’s order seriously,” Usi said. He added that MEXC has begun an independent review of its anti-money laundering and sanctions controls and intends to engage with FinCEN.
