Key Insights:
- Crypto news brings back the August 2025 White Whale–MEXC dispute after new claims surfaced in January 2026.
- White Whale alleges MEXC listed perpetual futures before official liquidity support was active.
- The situation revives broader concerns about how centralized exchanges operate behind the scenes.
In recent crypto news, old concerns around centralized crypto exchanges have returned to the spotlight. A new allegation involving MEXC and the trader known as White Whale has brought back questions that first surfaced months ago.
This is not a new story starting from zero. It is a dispute with history, now resurfacing after a recent token listing event. But first, some background!
August 2025: White Whale–MEXC Dispute Enters Crypto News
The first public dispute appeared in August 2025, which made headlines in the crypto news column. At that time, a trader using the name White Whale accused MEXC of freezing more than $3 million in funds.
According to White Whale, the exchange demanded an in-person KYC check in Malaysia before allowing withdrawals. He claimed this requirement did not appear clearly in the exchange’s user terms.
MEXC denied these claims at first. The crypto exchange said the account was flagged by internal risk systems and that the actions were part of standard compliance checks.
MEXC also stated that trading profits were not a reason for account restrictions. But later, MEXC supposedly accepted blame.
The case triggered debate across the crypto community. Many users discussed how much control centralized exchanges have over user funds, even when no clear rule violation is shown.
Why the Dispute Never Fully Went Away?
After interviews and public statements from both sides, the issue slowly faded from daily headlines in the crypto news space. No clear public resolution was confirmed.
However, the case continued to appear in online discussions as an example of unresolved trust issues. Traders often pointed to it when talking about exchange transparency, risk controls, and user protections.
The lack of a final outcome meant concerns stayed in the background rather than being closed. Something else happened in 2026.
Crypto News Now: White Whale Listing Brings New Attention
In early January 2026, the White Whale project returned to focus after announcing a derivatives listing on Bybit.
The announcement was seen as a major step for the project. It also brought fresh attention to where and how the token was being traded across centralized platforms.
As trading interest increased, activity around the token was watched more closely than before.
New Allegations Around an Alleged MEXC Perpetual Listing
Shortly after the Bybit announcement, White Whale made new public claims. He alleged that MEXC listed the token on perpetual futures before official market-making support was live.
White Whale claims that, at the time, the crypto token pair was not visible through public API access. Based on this, he alleged that the order book could not have been run by an external market maker.
According to White Whale, this raised the possibility that the exchange may have operated the market internally. He alleges this would revive the same conflict-of-interest concerns raised during the 2025 dispute.
As per crypto news, MEXC has not publicly confirmed these claims at the time of writing. As with earlier events, the exchange has previously stated that it follows internal risk and compliance systems.
This latest chapter does not prove wrongdoing. But it does show why the earlier dispute never fully disappeared.
For traders watching this crypto news story, the key issue is not just one listing. It is whether centralized exchanges clearly separate their role as platforms from any internal trading activity.
Until these questions are answered in a clear and public way, similar alleged disputes are likely to keep returning.