MEXC Review: Fees, Who's Behind It and Security, Tested Hands-On
lowest fees · widest altcoin selection
Users
40M+
Coins
1489+
24h volume
$7.7B
Min deposit
$10
→ with MX (−20%)
- Zero spot maker fees — only major exchange with 0% across all pairs, lowest taker too
- 1,489 coins (2,600 pairs) — largest catalog among major exchanges, fastest listings
- Stacking fee discounts — 20% with MX + 20% with referral, rising with VIP level
- Hacken-audited Proof of Reserves — BTC 297%, USDT 119%, never hacked
- Top-rated app — 4.7 iOS / 4.6 Android, full feature parity
- Trustpilot 1.8/5 — frozen account complaints and slow support resolution
- White Whale dispute (2025) — ~$3M frozen for months, released only after a public campaign and apology
- No tier-1 license — on FCA warning list, Estonian VASP revoked 2023, warnings from BaFin/ASIC/SFC/FSA
- No direct fiat banking — SEPA, SWIFT, ACH not supported for deposits or withdrawals
- Restricted in major markets — not available in US, UK, Canada, EEA, Singapore, China, Hong Kong
- Complex interface for beginners — product breadth overwhelming vs Coinbase or Kraken
MEXC is a centralized crypto exchange founded in April 2018 in Seychelles, known for some of the lowest fees in crypto (0% spot maker), the largest token catalog among major exchanges, and fast listings of new tokens. It reports 40M+ users across 170+ countries and 48 languages, and it has no publicly reported major breach with user-fund losses since launch. The other side: it operates offshore with no tier-1 license and sits on the UK FCA's warning list. We tested registration, fees, deposits, futures trading, and withdrawals end to end before writing this review.
Our verdict: 7.0/10 — the lowest spot fees and the biggest altcoin catalog in our comparison, with a regulatory profile and a 1.8 Trustpilot score that decide who it’s for.
Fees, and what you'll actually pay
The interesting part is how the discounts stack. Paying fees with the MX token takes 20% off (the interface labels it “Deduct using MX — 20% Off”), and an account registered with a referral code gets another 20%, so the spot taker lands at 0.032%. At high VIP levels (by 30-day volume or MX held), the discount reaches 50%.
The interesting part is how the discounts stack. Paying fees with the MX token takes 20% off (the interface labels it "Deduct using MX — 20% Off"). If your account was registered with a referral code, another 20% comes off on top. The two stack, pushing the entry-level taker well below the headline rate. At high VIP levels (by 30-day volume or MX held), the discount reaches 50%.
| Exchange | Spot Maker / Taker | Futures Maker / Taker | Token fee discount |
| MEXC | 0% / 0.05% | 0.04%/ 0.10% | 20% MX |
| Binance | 0.10% / 0.10% | 0.02% / 0.05% | 25% (BNB) |
| Bybit | 0.10% / 0.10% | 0.02% / 0.055% | 25% (MNT) |
| Bitget | 0.10% / 0.10% | 0.02% / 0.06% | 20% (BGB) |
| BingX | 0.10% / 0.10% | 0.02% / 0.05% | none |
| KuCoin | 0.10% / 0.10% | 0.02% / 0.06% | 20% (KCS) |
That’s the catch on futures. MEXC’s top futures rate, 0.04% maker / 0.10% taker, is the highest in the table, twice Binance’s taker. Stack MX and a referral code and the taker still lands at 0.064%: on $1M of monthly futures volume that’s about $640, against $550 on Bybit’s base rate. The way around it is pair selection: MEXC runs zero-fee promotions on some contracts, so check the rate on the pair before you open a position. Withdrawal fees are reasonable: BTC native around 0.00002 BTC (~$2), BTC on BEP-20 about $0.60, USDT on TRC-20 around 1 USDT, and USDT on BSC free.
Security, track record and current state
MEXC has no publicly reported major exchange-wallet hack with user-fund losses on record since its April 2018 launch. It keeps 95% of funds in cold wallets, maintains a $100M+ Guardian Fund reserve, holds a CertiK AA rating, and publishes regular Proof of Reserves independently verified by Hacken.
The September 2026 report, from a September 10 snapshot, shows every major asset above 100%: BTC 297%, USDT 119%, USDC 111%, ETH 111%. The independent Hacken audit is a real plus, since Bitget and BingX publish their reserves without an outside auditor. Users can verify individual balances through Merkle-tree proofs. Authentication covers Google Authenticator, SMS, hardware keys, FIDO passkeys, and biometrics, with anti-phishing codes and withdrawal whitelists available.
That clean record now means more than it did a month ago. After Bitget’s September hack, MEXC and OKX are the only two of the eight exchanges we review that have never lost user funds to a breach. MEXC has never had to touch its $101M Guardian Fund; Bitget spent $388M of its own fund in a week. The risk at MEXC isn’t that an attacker takes your coins. It’s that the exchange itself holds them, and that’s what the next section is about.
Regulation and user reviews
The case everyone cites is the White Whale. In August 2025 a trader’s account holding around $3M was frozen, and MEXC reportedly asked for an in-person KYC check in Malaysia before releasing it. The trader took it public, the story went viral, and on October 31, 2025 MEXC’s chief strategy officer apologized on X, released the funds and admitted that the exchange’s risk and operations teams “have not kept up” with its growth. The money came back only after the noise, and that’s the part worth remembering: user reviews describe the same pattern at smaller sums, with freezes under vague “compliance” or “security review” labels, slow answers and no timelines. Trustpilot sits at 1.8/5, with that complaint dominating the one-star reviews.
On regulation, the picture is thin, and it got thinner in 2026. MEXC holds no tier-1 license: Estonia revoked its VASP registration in November 2023, and in May 2026 the Seychelles FSA — the regulator of MEXC's own home jurisdiction — publicly stated that operator MX Global Ltd runs the exchange without the required licence. It sits on the UK FCA's warning list, with public warnings from Germany's BaFin, Australia's ASIC, Hong Kong's SFC and Japan's FSA. What it does hold is AML-level registration: AUSTRAC in Australia and FIU-IND in India.
Since July 1, 2026 the EEA is closed as well: MEXC has no MiCA license, didn’t apply for one, and asked European users to withdraw before the deadline.
Verification and limits
MEXC used to be known for letting you trade without verification. That's over: as of February 1, 2026, KYC is fully mandatory. Without a verified identity, deposits, withdrawals, and trading are restricted — everyone verifies now.
There are two levels. Primary KYC (passport or ID + selfie) raises the daily withdrawal limit to 80 BTC and unlocks basic access. Advanced KYC adds facial recognition and proof of address: 200 BTC/day withdrawal, up to 20,000 USD/day fiat trading, and unlimited crypto deposits. Verification usually takes minutes to a couple of hours, occasionally longer. Institutional accounts go up to 400 BTC/day.
Deposits: crypto across 30+ networks (free, credited after confirmations) and card via Visa or Mastercard (2-4% third-party fees). P2P supports local payment methods. The one persistent gap: no direct SEPA, SWIFT, or ACH for deposits or withdrawals (the same limitation as BingX). To reach a bank account, you sell via P2P or move funds to a fiat-friendly exchange.
Tools and products
- Launchpad. Subscription-based token sales of vetted projects: commit MX, USDT, or another supported asset for an early allocation, often well below listing price. Requires Advanced KYC, and sometimes a minimum deposit or trading volume.
- Kickstarter. Pre-listing voting with token rewards. You commit MX (from 5 up to 100,000); the tokens lock for a few hours and return to you, while you collect free airdrops of new projects. In effect, long-term MX holders earn a steady stream of new altcoins for nothing.
- DEX+ and Meme+. DEX+ lets you trade on-chain tokens (Solana, Base, BSC memecoins) straight from the MEXC interface, with no separate wallet or gas hassle. Meme+ is a dedicated zone for early memecoins and trending tokens. This is where MEXC's signature speed shows: new listings often appear before they reach tier-1 venues.
- Leveraged ETFs and loans. Tokenized leveraged ETFs (BTC3L, ETH3S and similar) give amplified exposure without liquidation, but daily rebalancing eats their value in sideways markets, so they suit short moves rather than holding. Crypto loans let you collateralize one asset to borrow another.
- Demo with 50K virtual USDT. A risk-free sandbox for both perpetual and standard futures, especially worthwhile given MEXC's up-to-500x leverage.
The MX token threads through all of it: fee discounts, Launchpool access, Kickstarter priority, boosted staking. It's an Ethereum ERC-20 with a buyback-and-burn model that has cut the circulating supply well below the original issuance.
What MEXC does better
- Lowest spot fees. 0% maker on every pair, and the taker falls to 0.032% with MX and a referral code stacked.
- Largest catalog. 1,489 coins versus 620 to 1,010 at the other exchanges in our comparison, with new tokens often live within hours of launch.
- Listing speed. Pre-Market, Meme+, and DEX+ give access to trending tokens before tier-1 exchanges.
- Top-tier app. 4.7/5 on iOS and 4.6 on Android, above BingX and Bitget, with full web parity.
- Never hacked. With OKX, the only exchange in our comparison that has never lost user funds to a breach.
Where MEXC falls short
- Trustpilot 1.8/5. Complaints cluster around account freezes and unclear timelines; the White Whale case is the loudest example, and it took a viral campaign to resolve.
- Weak regulatory footprint. No tier-1 license — FCA warning list, Estonian licence revoked 2023, Seychelles FSA alert 2026.
- No direct fiat banking. No SEPA, SWIFT, or ACH — only P2P or a transfer to another exchange.
- Country restrictions. Unavailable in the US, UK, Canada, Singapore, mainland China, Hong Kong and sanctioned regions, and closed across the EEA since July 2026.
- Steep for beginners, thin small-cap liquidity. The product breadth overwhelms at first, and real size on obscure tokens moves with slippage.
How MEXC compares
| If you care most about… | Best choice | Why |
| Lowest spot fees | MEXC | 0% maker, 0.032% taker with MX and a code |
| Widest altcoin selection | MEXC | 1,489 coins vs up to 1,010 at peers |
| Cheaper futures | Binance or OKX | 0.02% / 0.05% base vs MEXC’s 0.04% / 0.10% |
| Early access to new tokens | MEXC | Listings ahead of tier-1 exchanges |
| Liquidity & fiat on-ramps | Binance | Highest global volume, broadest fiat support |
| Clean hack record | OKX or MEXC | The only two in our comparison never to lose user funds to a breach |
| Regulatory consistency | Bybit | Tier-1 licenses (MEXC has none) |
| Lower operational-friction risk | Binance or OKX | Fewer high-profile freeze disputes than MEXC |
Bottom line
MEXC earns 7.0/10 from us. Come here for spot: the lowest fees in our comparison and the biggest altcoin catalog, often with new tokens before anyone else lists them. Think twice about futures, where its top rate is double Binance’s. It has never been hacked, so the risk here isn’t losing coins to an attacker; it’s an account freeze with slow answers, plus a regulatory profile that now shuts out the EEA and the UK. Keep trading balances on MEXC and long-term savings elsewhere.
