Users report missing funds as MEXC clarifies that ‘clawbacks’ solely impact delinquent traders.

MEXC, the 11th-largest centralized cryptocurrency exchange according to CoinMarketCap, has refuted accusations of profiting from unusually large profits made by its customers. The exchange asserts that its clawback policies, which some users claim have resulted in unjust deletions of funds from their accounts, are in place to safeguard against market manipulation. MEXC, renowned for its high trading volumes, has a daily spot trading volume of around $1.3 billion and a perpetual futures trading platform that generates over $7 billion in daily volume.
In February, a user named “Al Gore Rhythms” alleged that MEXC froze his account and removed funds following several crypto perpetual futures trades. Despite his trades in BONK, ICP, SATS, and GROK altcoin perpetuals showing gains of 380% to 2,200%, his account suddenly became inaccessible. He received error messages stating that his account had been restricted due to “risk control.” According to Al Gore Rhythms, he later discovered that approximately $33,658 had been deducted from his spot account. This deduction was not recorded in his transaction history, although his balance reflected a reduction from $75,054.54 to $41,396.54.
When Al Gore Rhythms contacted customer service to inquire about the deducted funds, MEXC representatives informed him that the exchange had taken measures to recover losses resulting from abnormal trading activities. When he requested a transaction record for tax purposes, the exchange refused to provide the information and subsequently deleted his entire transaction history. Al Gore Rhythms shared a video displaying blank pages in his transaction history and a screenshot of the history before it was deleted.
Cointelegraph could not verify the allegations independently or confirm if the video and screenshot belonged to the same account.
Another user, Coach K Crypto, also claimed that MEXC unjustly deducted funds from his account. According to a post by Mason Versluis, co-host of The Gold Pod, Coach K Crypto stated that $330,000 was taken from his MEXC account due to abnormal profit, which a customer service representative referred to as a “crawback.” MEXC responded to the post, asserting that its risk control policy does not affect ordinary users engaged in normal trading activities. The exchange spokesperson added that there is an appeals process for users who believe the policy has led to unfair deductions.
In a separate incident, a MEXC user from Pakistan alleged that the exchange froze his trades, resulting in liquidation. The user claimed that MEXC offered him $3,000 in compensation in exchange for deleting his complaints about the incident. However, the exchange rescinded the offer when his posts lost traction over time. No screenshot of the offer was provided.
Another cryptocurrency trader named Hashmoney reported a similar experience in January. When their account was frozen, they were unable to hedge their positions or reduce margins. Hashmoney requested that customer service allow them to trade to prevent their balance from liquidating, but they were only permitted to add to their position for 30 minutes. As a result, their entire futures account was liquidated, resulting in losses of over $11,000. Hashmoney claimed that they still had $600 remaining in the account but were unable to withdraw it due to the freeze.
MEXC responded to Hashmoney’s complaint, stating that an investigation was underway and requesting that the user contact customer service for updates. However, no resolution has been posted as of now.
Cointelegraph reached out to MEXC for comment, but no response was received at the time of publication. A blog post on the exchange’s official website defines “abnormal trading behavior” as activities like placing and canceling multiple orders (spoofing) or artificially inflating volume by trading between multiple accounts. Al Gore Rhythms denies owning multiple accounts or engaging in spoofing. Similar allegations were made against MEXC by multiple users in December, which the exchange dismissed as misinformation spread by individuals with personal agendas. MEXC emphasized that clawbacks are only implemented following a strict review in accordance with user agreements.