A crypto influencer had been demanding the return of his $3 million, which had been frozen by the MEXC cryptocurrency exchange since last July. Four months later—and in the face of a very active social media campaign—the exchange has just admitted its mistake by returning the funds.
Crypto influencer has $3 million seized by MEXC
Some crypto misadventures sometimes resemble iconic myths like David and Goliath. Except that in this case, the son of the shepherd—the hero of this battle—had access to social media and enjoyed the status of a recognized influencer through his account, The White Whale.
This position has allowed him, since last August, to wage a veritable crusade against the cryptocurrency exchange MEXC, which serves as the giant Goliath in this story. The issue? The freezing of $3 million following the suspension of his account.
According to the exchange, the reason cited was the placement of two orders within the same second. This activity was deemed too rapid, indicating the use of an automated trading tool that is apparently prohibited on the platform. In any case, this was reason enough to confiscate the $3 million held in his account.
But The White Whale isn’t going to let it go, and by the end of August, a $2 million bounty will be up for grabs. This is an opportunity for the influencer to present his perspective on a process he deems unacceptable and completely arbitrary.
That money came from my hard-earned savings, and every dollar I earned on the platform was the result of clean, legitimate trading based on skill. My only conceivable offense? I was too profitable. I consistently outperformed their external market makers—the firms they secretly partner with to act as the counterparty for trades.
The White Whale
“We screwed up”
This saga could have ended there, with us simply waiting for the social media firestorm to die down. But that was without counting on the recent arrival of crypto investigator ZachXBT in this case, who stepped in to help this trader—accused of all manner of wrongdoing by MEXC to justify its actions—even as the company fails to honor its own commitments in return (such as respecting privacy).
His intervention was clearly effective, since the very next day, MEXC’s Chief Security Officer (CSO), Cecilia Hsueh, posted an apology on X in which she bluntly admitted that the exchange had “screwed up” in this matter, following what was described as very rapid growth.
We screwed up. We apologize to The White Whale, and his funds have already been released. He can claim them at any time. I miscommunicated with him. I let my emotions get the better of me, and I shouldn’t have.
Cecilia Hsueh
Some observers point more specifically to a significant increase in fund withdrawals by users of this exchange since this case came to light as the real motivation, as well as the fact that nothing would have happened if the victim had fewer followers on the X network. Food for thought…
