Geographic block — US + select OFAC countries
MEXC hard-blocks: United States (SEC since 2022 requires unregistered exchanges not to serve Americans), Canada (Ontario/BC since 2023), UK (FCA requires all crypto exchanges to register, MEXC isn't), Cuba/Iran/North Korea/Syria/Sudan (OFAC sanctioned), Crimea/parts of Russia. Singapore tightened 2024 (MAS requires KYC ≥ L1 + Singapore address proof). IP check at signup is strict (US IP rejected instantly), but MEXC doesn't real-time monitor post-signup login IP — switching countries after signup is usually OK unless large withdrawals are involved. Common US strategy: register via TW/HK/JP IP + non-US ID + non-US card USDT deposit.
KYC three tiers — L0 / L1 / L2 functional difference
L0 (no KYC): email + phone signup, spot trading only, no fiat deposit, no futures, no withdrawals. L1 (ID KYC): upload front+back of ID card + name + nationality + DOB, unlocks fiat deposit (P2P or third-party card channel), basic futures (up to 20x), withdrawal (daily cap 80 BTC ≈ $5M). L2 (address + face KYC): on top of L1, add address proof (utility bill / bank statement within 3 months) + live face match. Unlocks 200x full leverage, daily withdrawal cap 200 BTC ≈ $12M, OTC large-fund channel. L2 review usually 24-48 hours; some countries (Nigeria/Kenya/Vietnam) reviewed stricter, frequently rejected.
Why new coins list on MEXC first — product positioning
MEXC's biggest edge is listing speed — Binance/Coinbase take 3-6 months for compliance review; MEXC usually lists in 48-72 hours. Trade-off is risk: of 260+ MEXC pairs, about 40% go to zero within 6 months (rug pulls, team abandons, volume dies). User upshot: (1) primary-market airdrop (Launchpad + Kickstarter) — small-fund airdrops economical, 0.5-2 ETH scale; (2) market-making arbitrage (MEXC vs DEX spreads on new coins) — sell on MEXC, buy on Uniswap/PancakeSwap or reverse; (3) meme coin speculation — PEPE, WIF, BOME all early-listed on MEXC. Binance/Coinbase investors use MEXC as a 'sentinel account' to watch new listings.
AF3 node strategy — stable for trading, residential for withdrawals
AF3's MEXC IP scoring: residential 30 / quality_vpn 28 / normal_vpn 25 / datacenter 20 — slightly looser than Binance (2-star). Daily trading node requirements: (1) latency ≤ 200ms (API orders / spot orders comfortable); (2) stability beats speed (high-freq futures cut off = liquidation risk); (3) preferred: Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, Frankfurt. Withdrawal stage: (1) use residential IP for $10k+ withdrawals to avoid 'Security Hold 24h' risk trigger; (2) pre-set withdrawal whitelist addresses to reduce risk review; (3) first withdrawal to new address has 24h delay by default; (4) don't switch country IP mid-review. Before closing large futures positions, log in 30 min ahead to confirm no anomaly flags.
Fiat deposits and P2P market
MEXC doesn't accept direct USD wires (no US bank relationship). Fiat deposit methods: (1) P2P market — peer-to-peer USDT purchase with Alipay/WeChat/UnionPay/mobile QR, rates typically 0.5-1% above market; (2) third-party card channel (Simplex/MoonPay) — 3-5% fee, fine for small amounts; (3) local bank transfer in Singapore/HK/Taiwan/Korea/Japan to MEXC-designated account (L2 + domestic residents only); (4) stablecoin deposit direct (USDT/USDC/DAI on-chain from other platforms) — zero fee, most common. Chinese users' mainstream path: first fiat-deposit CNY on OKX or Bybit P2P → buy USDT → on-chain transfer to MEXC (TRX network < $1).