MEXC's New Sheriff in Town Wants That Sweet MiCA Badge But Still Plans to Keep the Zero-Fee Rager Going

MEXC just promoted a new captain to steer the ship, and guess what's on the horizon? That shiny EU compliance badge everyone's fighting over. Nothing says "we mean business" like getting properly licensed while your users trade memes at 3am.

The exchange handed Vugar Usi the CEO keys on Wednesday, pulling him up from the COO chair he warmed starting late 2025. Usi's resume includes a stint as the same role at rival exchange Bitget, so the guy basically has a PhD in running crypto trading desks. When you’ve survived the degen wild west of crypto exchanges, CEO seems like a logical next step.

In his inaugural chat with Cointelegraph, Usi made it clear MEXC isn't ditching its DNA — low-fee trading stays on the menu, and they're eyeing more multi-asset real estate. But there's a new sheriff's priority on the whiteboard: getting properly licensed where the regulators actually have teeth.

"The MiCA license application is a top strategic priority for the company," Usi said, basically admitting they're tired of flying under the regulatory radar in Europe. The EU flag's been waving at them awkwardly since Dutch authorities called them out in September 2025 for serving Dutch users without the proper paperwork. Nothing like a sternly worded letter from the Dutch to get compliance on the agenda.

MEXC isn't the only one scrambling for that MiCA blessing. Binance, the 800-pound gorilla of exchanges, already threw its hat in the ring with a MiCA license application in Greece back in January. Nothing like watching the big dogs queue up for permission slips.

Founded in April 2018, MEXC has been absolutely chugging along — we're looking at roughly $2.2 billion in daily trading volumes, according to CoinGecko. CryptoQuant even slotted them in the top three of their Exchange Leader Index, rubbing shoulders with Binance and Gate.io. Not bad for the new kid at the compliance party.

The exchange has also been playing nice with the ecosystem, including an auditing partnership with Hacken and a cozy collaboration with The Open Network (TON), which scored funding from MEXC Ventures in late 2023. Because nothing says "we're a serious exchange" like getting your security audited and backing the Telegram coin.