US Treasury cuts crypto exchange MEXC off from the US financial system over $16 billion in alleged illicit flows

MEXC Global, a large cryptocurrency exchange, will be cut off from the US financial system after the Trump administration said it facilitated sanctions evasion tied to Iran and Russia¹. The Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network moved against the exchange on Friday^4,6.

The Treasury alleges that MEXC handled about $16 billion in transactions linked to Iran, North Korea and Russia^4,5. One account of the order puts the total at $16.7 billion and describes the measure as a restriction on transfers with the exchange⁸. The order further isolates MEXC from the US financial system⁵.

According to the Treasury, a stablecoin was used by the network to facilitate sanctions evasion, and Iranian activity accounted for another significant portion of the flows². A further $200 million was connected to the A7A5 stablecoin, by one account of the findings⁷. The activity the Treasury described was not limited to Russia and ran between May 2021 and May 2026⁷. These are the government’s allegations, and none of the coverage in hand reports a response from MEXC⁶.

Why it matters to investors

The action extends a sanctions-evasion crackdown that has run from Russia’s A7 Network to Iran’s Nobitex³. In September, the US also sanctioned the Iranian crypto exchange BitBank⁴. The MEXC order follows previous sanctions against crypto platforms linked to Iran and Russia⁵, and it is framed as part of a wider expansion of secondary sanctions risk to Iran’s crypto operations⁸.

For market participants, the practical effect is that the exchange is severed from the US financial system^1,3. Firms that route payments or liquidity through such venues face that cut-off directly, since the measure targets transfers with MEXC⁸. The alleged flows total about $16 billion^2,4, and the Treasury has paired the measure with a warning about secondary sanctions exposure⁸.

The case also puts stablecoins at the center of sanctions enforcement. The Treasury’s account ties the alleged evasion to a stablecoin used by the network² and to the A7A5 stablecoin in particular⁷.

What to watch

It is not yet known whether MEXC will contest the action⁶. The move came alongside other crypto designations, an Iranian exchange action and Russia’s push to put bitcoin trading on the Moscow Exchange⁶.

Investors will watch whether the Treasury widens the list of crypto platforms cut off over Iran and Russia, as it did with BitBank in September⁴ and with earlier actions against platforms linked to both countries⁵. The secondary sanctions risk now attached to Iran’s crypto operations⁸ also extends to foreign firms that keep dealing with the exchange.