THE U.S. IS OVERREACTING
FinCEN alleged $16 billion in illicit flows at MEXC, and several offshore CEXs rushed to cut off transfers with it.
The reality? The U.S. order only prohibits U.S. financial institutions from processing funds with MEXC. It is not an OFAC sanction, does not freeze assets, and does not require any exchange outside the U.S. to stop deposits and withdrawals between them.
Even so, platforms with little or no presence in the U.S. rushed to block MEXC users. That’s not risk management. It’s overcompliance driven by fear of secondary pressure.
The $16 billion figure seems much more like a joke than anything else, with no complete public data and no comparison with other major CEXs.
To be even more direct and honest, that figure is probably a lie. And if we were focused on finding a few million dollars in illicit funds, we could just go after any major CEX—ANY one of them—so let’s not make it sound like we’re dealing with the end of the world.
MEXC has always had weak KYC, and isn’t that precisely why it has grown so much? After all, who likes having to fill in loads of personal details online? But the U.S.’s current reaction is disproportionate and selective. Meanwhile, historically worse cases continue to go without the same rigorous treatment.
Who is really being protected? The average user who loses liquidity and the freedom to move capital, or the system that turns CEXs into informal arms of American foreign policy?
Crypto is permissionless. When exchanges themselves start self-censoring before they are legally required to do so, the ecosystem becomes more fragile, less competitive, and more dependent on whoever kneels first.
MEXC has the same flaws as all the others, but collectively lynching it over an opaque figure and an order that does not apply to them is pure regulatory overreach.
CEXs should be careful about how they treat MEXC, because they’ll probably be next after MEXC.
FinCEN alleged $16 billion in illicit flows at MEXC, and several offshore CEXs rushed to cut off transfers with it.
The reality? The U.S. order only prohibits U.S. financial institutions from processing funds with MEXC. It is not an OFAC sanction, does not freeze assets, and does not require any exchange outside the U.S. to stop deposits and withdrawals between them.
Even so, platforms with little or no presence in the U.S. rushed to block MEXC users. That’s not risk management. It’s overcompliance driven by fear of secondary pressure.
The $16 billion figure seems much more like a joke than anything else, with no complete public data and no comparison with other major CEXs.
To be even more direct and honest, that figure is probably a lie. And if we were focused on finding a few million dollars in illicit funds, we could just go after any major CEX—ANY one of them—so let’s not make it sound like we’re dealing with the end of the world.
MEXC has always had weak KYC, and isn’t that precisely why it has grown so much? After all, who likes having to fill in loads of personal details online? But the U.S.’s current reaction is disproportionate and selective. Meanwhile, historically worse cases continue to go without the same rigorous treatment.
Who is really being protected? The average user who loses liquidity and the freedom to move capital, or the system that turns CEXs into informal arms of American foreign policy?
Crypto is permissionless. When exchanges themselves start self-censoring before they are legally required to do so, the ecosystem becomes more fragile, less competitive, and more dependent on whoever kneels first.
MEXC has the same flaws as all the others, but collectively lynching it over an opaque figure and an order that does not apply to them is pure regulatory overreach.
CEXs should be careful about how they treat MEXC, because they’ll probably be next after MEXC.
