US Treasury Cuts MEXC Off Amid $6.3B Binance Hack Concerns

The US Treasury moved to cut cryptocurrency exchange MEXC Global off the US financial system, accusing it of facilitating at least $16 billion in transactions linked to sanctions evasion, cybercrime and other illicit activity. FinCEN said MEXC processed transactions involving sanctioned groups in Iran, Russia and North Korea between May 2021 and May 2026.

According to FinCEN, approximately $1.5 billion of the alleged transactions were connected to Russian sanctions evasion. The order prohibits US financial institutions from processing transfers involving MEXC and takes effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. The action is part of Operation Economic Outcast, a Treasury campaign launched in August to restrict entities that help Iran evade sanctions. DefiLlama reported that MEXC held about $4.48 billion in assets as of Friday, while the exchange had not responded to Cointelegraph by publication time.

Binance is also facing scrutiny over a reported $6.3 billion security incident. Co-CEO Richard Teng said on Oct. 30 that the attack affected Binance’s own hot wallet, while most customer assets remained in offline cold storage and were transferred to hot wallets only when users requested withdrawals. Public blockchain records can reveal the movement of funds, but they do not show the internal controls governing how those transfers were authorized.

The MEXC action and Binance disclosures underscore the growing focus on exchange safeguards and reserve transparency. Other crypto exchanges are reportedly publishing cold-storage reserve data to reassure customers that their assets are held offline. The latest developments come as Bitcoin traded around $75,976.96, while Solana stood at $89.99 and BNB at $694.84.