Crypto exchange MEXC has issued a public apology after freezing $3 million belonging to a well-known trader known as The White Whale, admitting it mishandled the case and releasing the funds following months of public backlash.
Key Takeaways:
- MEXC apologized after wrongfully freezing $3 million from trader “The White Whale.”
- The issue gained attention after on-chain investigator ZachXBT intervened, prompting MEXC’s leadership to issue a public statement.
- MEXC plans to launch a “fast-track channel” for dispute resolution as it works to fix transparency and operational issues.
The incident began in July, when MEXC froze the trader’s account, claiming he violated its terms of service by placing two orders within the same second, which the exchange interpreted as automated trading.
The exchange told him the funds would be forfeited, but The White Whale denied the accusation and began publicly pressuring the company to return his money.
MEXC Admits Fault, Apologizes to Trader After ZachXBT Intervention
After weeks of silence, the situation escalated when prominent on-chain investigator ZachXBT publicly defended the trader, amplifying calls for accountability.
On Thursday, MEXC’s Chief Strategy Officer Cecilia Hsueh issued a statement on X conceding fault.
“We fucked up. We apologize to The White Whale, and his money is already released. He can claim it at any time,” Hsueh wrote. “I messed up in communicating with him. I got emotional, and I shouldn’t have.”
Following the apology, Hsueh said MEXC plans to establish a “fast-track channel” for resolving similar account disputes.
The White Whale alleged that hundreds of users have contacted him with stories of frozen accounts and inaccessible funds.
The controversy has also drawn sharp criticism from other traders. “It took a while and a bunch of hate to get you to do it.
100% sure this tweet would not exist if he were someone with 100 followers,” wrote pseudonymous trader Joji.
Hsueh replied candidly: “You’re not wrong. It takes a lot to wake up the whole company. We are working on making sure this doesn’t happen again.”
Hsueh said MEXC’s internal issues stem from “growing pains,” explaining that while the exchange scaled from a small operation to a top-10 exchange by volume, its risk, operations, and PR teams “have not kept up with this growth.”
She added, “We’re going to change that… The leadership team now acknowledges that MEXC has to improve its transparency.”
Bitcoin Withdrawals from MEXC Spike 30x After The White Whale Controversy
Meanwhile, CryptoQuant data shows that Bitcoin withdrawals from MEXC surged dramatically, from around 40 per day to 1,237 daily in mid-July, coinciding with the freezing of The White Whale’s funds.
Withdrawals remained elevated this week, with over 1,400 processed on Friday.
Some users now claim they are facing similar problems. “I had the same issue and false allegations,” trader Elja wrote.
“It got solved after 14 days, but I can’t trust it anymore.” Others accused MEXC of ignoring withdrawal requests for over a year, highlighting a growing trust deficit between the exchange and its users.
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