OKX CEO Star Xu urged users on Nov. 7 to avoid transferring funds directly from MEXC to OKX, saying the exchange had tightened its controls ahead of a U.S. financial cutoff targeting MEXC.

“OKX treats FinCEN special measures with a level of caution similar to sanctions,” Xu wrote. Under the exchange’s compliance controls, funds associated with affected platforms may be frozen and related accounts investigated, he said.

“Although FinCEN has provided a 30-day transition period, OKX has already significantly strengthened its controls rather than waiting until the deadline,” he said.

Users Report Held Deposits

Xu was responding to @HoppinsKarlz, who said deposits of 848.8 $USDT and 11.7 $USDT from their own MEXC accounts were both under risk review at OKX. The user asked when legitimate customers would regain access to their funds and what documents were required to verify their source. Xu’s response did not provide a release timetable or specify the documents needed to clear the reviews.

Another customer, @Mari78612, said a $USDT transfer from MEXC had been held at OKX. Earlier on Nov. 7, OKX’s verified help desk told that user: “Your withdrawal couldn’t be processed because of a high-risk address warning.” The reply described a withdrawal warning rather than addressing the deposit hold the customer alleged. The reported cases underline the practical stakes of the designation: transfers that pass through MEXC can land in risk reviews at the receiving exchange even before the U.S. cutoff formally begins.

FinCEN’s Ban Has a Delayed Start

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the Treasury Department bureau responsible for safeguarding the U.S. financial system from money laundering, issued its Nov. 6 order prohibiting covered U.S. financial institutions from sending funds to or receiving funds from MEXC Global, including cryptocurrency transfers. Special measures of this kind are reserved for institutions FinCEN identifies as primary money laundering concerns. The ban takes effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register — not on the announcement date — a window Xu indicated OKX was not prepared to rely on. The order does not itself require immediate, worldwide freezes of customer assets at foreign exchanges.

OKX’s existing compliance policy already provides for risk-based due diligence, discretionary screening and ongoing monitoring for suspicious activity; Xu said the exchange had strengthened its own controls.

FinCEN alleges that MEXC facilitated the movement of $16.7 billion connected to Russian illicit finance and other illicit activities between May 2021 and May 2026. As The Defiant previously reported, MEXC said it had begun an independent review of its anti-money laundering and sanctions controls.

MEXC’s main account said the exchange was operating normally and that user assets remained secure. In a Nov. 7 reply to the OKX complainant, its Oceania account said “Withdrawals and trading continue as usual” and directed the customer to OKX support regarding the holds at the receiving exchange.

The next developments that matter are the order’s publication in the Federal Register — the trigger for the 30-day countdown — and the outcome of the independent review MEXC says it has begun.

Update, Nov. 7: Added OKX CEO Star Xu’s warning against MEXC transfers and his explanation of strengthened compliance controls.