Serious Problems for MEXC Customers. Funds Transferred from the Exchange Are Being Frozen

Customers of the cryptocurrency exchange MEXC, who tried to move their funds elsewhere after the recent American blow to the platform, are now facing a new obstacle. Some transfers are getting stuck on the target platforms, and Star Xu, the founder and CEO of the competing exchange OKX, directly advises against transferring funds directly from MEXC, as they "may be frozen pending clarification." Similar complaints are being made by users of Binance and Gate. Interestingly, the American ban is not yet officially in effect.

Cryptocurrencies from MEXC Are Going to the Freezer. OKX CEO Warns

To begin with, let's recall: on Friday, the FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network), which operates under the U.S. Department of the Treasury to combat financial crime, issued a decision cutting MEXC off from the infrastructure of American financial institutions, and the ban also applies to transferred crypto. As we reported yesterday, officials managed to link at least $16.7 billion in illegal transfers to the exchange.

The next day, Star Xu responded to a complaint from one of the customers. He wrote that OKX "treats such FinCEN decisions with caution similar to sanctions," therefore, funds associated with the affected platform may be frozen, and accounts checked. U.S. officials gave the market 30 days to prepare for the implementation of the decision, but as it appears, top platforms are already tightening controls.

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 author of the complaint, a user with the pseudonym HoppinsKarlz, claims to have transferred a small amount of $848.8 in USDT stablecoin from his own accounts on MEXC and another amount of 11.7 USDT. Both deposits got stuck at the verification stage. He asked when honest customers would regain access to their money and what documents were needed, but at this moment he has not yet received any definitive answer.

Another OKX customer heard a warning from the support department about a "high-risk address." Meanwhile, one of MEXC's accounts responded to the affected user that withdrawals and trading were operating as usual, then referred him to... OKX customer service.

The industry portal 'Wu Blockchain' noted that similar cases occurred with transfers to Binance and Gate exchanges, although none of these platforms have officially announced a general blockade of transfers from MEXC, and it is unclear how many people are actually affected by the problem. Bitget Wallet, on the other hand, confirmed that it will no longer accept funds identified as coming from MEXC for card top-ups.

Why Are Exchanges Freezing Funds When the Ban Is Not Yet in Effect?

The order will come into effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register and applies to financial institutions in the U.S. It does not require foreign exchanges to freeze anything. The crux of the matter is that the FinCEN document states: the decision also serves as a warning to institutions and market regulators outside the United States.

In February 2025, the operator of OKX admitted in a New York court to "operating an unlicensed money transfer business," paid over $500 million, and must use the services of an external compliance advisor until February 2027. Therefore, it is not surprising that the exchange prefers to err on the side of caution.

In May, following British sanctions on the parent company of another popular exchange HTX, Bybit behaved similarly. Transfers from addresses linked to HTX were subjected to additional controls, and they warned that customers "may be asked for documents confirming the source of funds."

Switching through a private wallet is unlikely to help much. FinCEN describes in the order a situation where coins from MEXC sat for a long time in such a wallet before reaching an American institution, and leaves it free to decide what to do with them now. Considering that few want to risk angering the government, the decision made will likely be conservative.

MEXC Calms Down, but Withdrawals Are Increasing

MEXC assures in a statement that it is operating normally, and users' assets are "safe." However, the exchange's CEO Vugar Usi Zade admitted that withdrawals from the platform are this time more than usual. According to the aggregator DefiLlama, in the day covering the FinCEN decision, a net of $126 million flowed out of the platform, with about $4.35 billion in assets in tracked wallets, which is less than 3%.

Usi Zade also claims that the analytics firm Elliptic removed the special risk designation from MEXC and restored its usual exchange category. Such classifications often determine whether another platform's system will trigger a red flag.

In Europe, MEXC is still retracting. At the end of September, it announced its withdrawal from the Netherlands, and on October 28 from France, where withdrawals will end on March 5 next year. Poland is not yet on that list, but the exchange does not yet have a MiCA license (EU regulation on crypto-asset markets), and it is unclear whether it will receive one.