Users of cryptocurrency exchange MEXC are reporting deposit holds on platforms including OKX after the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an order cutting MEXC off from the U.S. financial system. The order accuses MEXC of serving as a “hub for sanctioned actors” and processing over $16 billion for entities in Iran, Russia, and North Korea.
Social media reports highlighted the situation, with users claiming their deposits were frozen “under the vague excuse of coming from a ‘potentially high-risk address.’” One user stated, “We are not criminals. We are ordinary crypto users transferring our own assets between exchanges.”
OKX Tightens Controls Ahead of Deadline
Star Xu, founder and CEO of OKX, clarified that the FinCEN order only prohibits U.S. financial institutions from engaging in any transmittal of funds from or to MEXC Global and includes a 30-day transition period. Nevertheless, Xu said OKX had “already significantly strengthened its controls rather than waiting until the deadline.”
“OKX treats FinCEN special measures with a level of 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,” Xu stressed, calling on users to avoid transferring funds directly from MEXC.
MEXC Says Operations Continue Smoothly
MEXC CEO Vugar Usi stressed that operations at the exchange continue to run smoothly, even with increased withdrawal volumes. The company is working with analytics providers like Elliptic to remove the special risk classification from its addresses and return them to the original “exchange” category.
“I would like to stress that we take the concerns raised in FinCEN’s order seriously. We intend to engage constructively with FinCEN and have begun an independent review of our AML and sanctions controls,” Usi concluded.
Despite these assurances, more users are worried about the status of their cryptocurrency wallets, wondering if merely having interacted with MEXC addresses at some point would put their funds at risk without receiving a clear answer.
Before FinCEN’s designation, MEXC experienced a notable rise in tokenized trading, with AI asset spot volume surging 88% and tokenized U.S. stock spot volume jumping 81% in September.
