The U.S. Treasury Department has moved to cut MEXC Global off from the American financial system, saying the crypto exchange is a money laundering concern and alleging it supported roughly $16 billion in transactions linked to Iran, North Korea and Russia.
In an order issued Friday through the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, Treasury said the action was intended to shield the U.S. financial system from illicit finance risks. The department also argued that MEXC’s claimed anti-money laundering controls and user restrictions were undermined by what it described as severe compliance deficiencies.
Treasury action targets access to U.S. finance
Treasury said FinCEN issued the order against MEXC Global on Friday. The department framed the move as a step to sever the exchange from the U.S. financial system after concluding that it posed a money laundering threat.
In a statement released with the order, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said financial institutions could not simultaneously support the Iranian regime and retain access to the U.S. financial system. He added that Treasury would keep working to cut off Iran’s economic lifelines and disrupt efforts to use digital assets to get around U.S. sanctions.
Alleged links to Iran, North Korea and Russia
According to Treasury, the case against MEXC centers on around $16 billion in transactions allegedly tied to Iran, North Korea and Russia. The department presented those alleged flows as part of a broader sanctions and illicit finance concern rather than as ordinary exchange activity.
Treasury also said MEXC had stated that it maintained anti-money laundering procedures and blocked users in jurisdictions including Iran and North Korea. Despite those claims, the department said the platform had severe deficiencies in its AML controls.
Part of a wider crackdown on Iran-related crypto activity
The action against MEXC comes amid a broader Treasury push over the past year against crypto platforms it says have helped Iran evade sanctions during the ongoing conflict involving the country.
In June, Treasury sanctioned Nobitex, which it described as Iran’s largest crypto exchange, alleging that it handled more than half of Iran’s crypto inflows in 2025. In September, U.S. authorities also sanctioned Iranian exchange BitBank over alleged bitcoin transfers to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
What is confirmed next
Treasury said Friday’s measure is meant to protect the U.S. financial system from what it called the significant illicit finance threats posed by MEXC Global. The confirmed outcome announced so far is the U.S. government’s move to block the exchange’s access to that system.
No further response from MEXC Global was included in the source material. Beyond the order itself, the immediate next step confirmed by Treasury is continued enforcement aimed at preventing the use of digital assets to circumvent U.S. sanctions.
Source: www.theblock.co