MEXC to shut Russia and Belarus accounts as EU and Moscow squeeze crypto
- MEXC said it will stop serving users in Russia and Belarus, citing global compliance.
- Affected accounts will receive individual deadlines for closing positions and withdrawing funds.
- The EU hands itself the power to ban crypto firms from entire third countries as Russia channels the market through licensed, state-controlled players like Sberbank and VTB.
An end has come to the relationship between MEXC and its users in Russia and Belarus. MEXC announced it will no longer serve customers in those countries due to global compliance.
Moreover, the EU recently handed itself the power to ban crypto firms from select countries.
What MEXC said to its users
The decision of MEXC’s withdrawal from Russia and Belarus was published on its Announcement Center on Tuesday, October 20, 2026.
The exchange said it planned to “discontinue services for users in Russia or Belarus” in a bid to “enhance global compliance.” Reports suggest MEXC’s decision is buoyed by a desire to keep up with “international requirements.”
The move does not affect every account holder, though, as the exchange announced that users affected by the change will be notified with clear-cut timelines and procedures for closing open positions and pulling out assets.
Thus, if a user does not receive any notice, then such a user can continue trading under the platform’s terms. Customer funds, however, will remain safe, and they can reach out to its support desk.
There was no mention of any particular sanction or rule influencing this decision.
The EU’s latest third-country ban
The announcement by MEXC is rather prescient. It comes at a time when authorities in the EU are upping the stakes as regards crypto regulation. The Council of the European Union, on the 23rd of July 2026, announced its 21st round of sanctions on Russia.
Included in the latest round of sanctions is the EU’s self-imposed authority to place a full third-country ban on crypto firms. With this new power, the EU has the ability to block any transaction between an EU operator and a crypto provider owned or used by Russia.
No country has been sanctioned yet, so it is safe to assume that the new authority currently serves as a deterrent against jurisdictions that host sanctions-evasion platforms.
However, prior to this point, the EU already had Russia and Belarus in its sights, especially since the 20th sanctions package targeted crypto service providers from both nations.
The EU later widened the scope of the ban by focusing on Russian and Belarusian nationals controlling EU crypto firms to cover every service defined under the EU’s crypto rulebook, MiCA.
Russia creates its own walled-off market
Internal issues are brewing in Russia, as Moscow’s “On digital currencies and digital rights” law becomes effective on September 1, 2026. Over a dozen licenses have been issued by the Bank of Russia to entities looking to run crypto trading. Among the entities licensed are Sberbank and VTB, both state-owned entities, as well as companies like Zefir and T-Invest Lab.
Offshore exchanges are not given leeway to operate in Russia, making life difficult for companies like MEXC. Also, the central bank of Russia has said peer-to-peer transactions will only last until July 1, 2027, while outlawing the transfer of digital currencies to non-custodial wallets.
Retail investors are limited to Bitcoin, Ether, and Tether’s USDT, with transactions funneled through Russia-licensed intermediaries.
It’s worth noting that Sberbank, VTB and the tokenization platform Atomyze have all been sanctioned by Western countries due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
A spate of regulator-driven exits
MEXC has had its fair share of regulator-driven exits. Its parent company, MX Global Ltd, was flagged by the Financial Services Authority of Seychelles for operating without a license.
This occurred in May 2026 and went against the provisions of Seychelles’ Virtual Asset Service Providers Act. The agency moved to take appropriate legal action against MX Global Ltd. MEXC’s own Announcement Center has stated an end to its services in the Netherlands, as well as Russia and Belarus.
What to watch next is whether the EU names its first third country under the new ban power, and how quickly MEXC’s individual deadlines for Russian and Belarusian users land in their inboxes.
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FAQs
Why is MEXC leaving Russia and Belarus?
MEXC said it is discontinuing services as part of ongoing efforts to enhance global compliance, which is being reported as a push to meet international requirements. The exchange did not name specific sanctions or laws in its public notice.
What happens to funds held by affected users?
MEXC said user assets remain safe and that affected users will receive individual notifications outlining the timelines and procedures for closing positions and withdrawing their assets. Users who are not notified can continue using the platform.
What is the EU's new third-country crypto ban?
Adopted in the 21st sanctions package on July 23, 2026, it lets the Council prohibit EU operators from transacting with any crypto-asset service established in a named third country. According to Elliptic, no country has been designated under the authority yet, so it currently acts as a deterrent.
Disclaimer. The information provided is not trading advice. Cryptopolitan.com holds no liability for any investments made based on the information provided on this page. We strongly recommend independent research and/or consultation with a qualified professional before making any investment decisions.
Hannah Collymore
Hannah is a writer and editor with nearly a decade of blog writing and event reporting experience in the crypto space. At Cryptopolitan, Hannah contributes to the news page, reporting and analyzing the latest developments in DeFi, RWA, crypto regulation, AI and frontier tech industries. She graduated from Arcadia university with a degree in Business Administration.
