U.S. Sanctions Eight Canadian Crypto Exchange Shops as FINTRAC Reports 161 Registrations Revoked in 2026
What Washington and Ottawa Announced on November 6, 2026
On November 6, 2026 the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated eight money services businesses based in Canada, under Executive Order 13902, for operating in the digital asset sector of Iran's economy. Treasury says the firms exchange rials and other currencies for crypto and that many transacted with sanctioned Iranian exchanges and with addresses tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. These are the department's stated grounds for an administrative action, not criminal findings.
The same day, FINTRAC, Canada's financial intelligence unit, confirmed it had coordinated with OFAC and with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Its statement carried a set of national figures that matter more to ordinary crypto users than the eight names: 161 money services business registrations revoked since the start of 2026, which FINTRAC says is more than the previous three years combined, and more than C$198 million in administrative penalties against nine businesses over the past year. Those penalties are a sector-wide total. FINTRAC does not attribute them to the eight firms Treasury named, and the law bars it from discussing compliance action against specific businesses outside a published penalty notice.
In a separate order issued that day, FinCEN moved to bar U.S. financial institutions from sending funds to or receiving funds from MEXC Global, an offshore exchange that Treasury ranks among the 20 largest in the world. Treasury alleges at least US$16 billion in illicit flows through MEXC between May 2021 and May 2026.
The Eight Canadian Firms Treasury Named
All eight are in Ontario or British Columbia, the two provinces where Treasury says drug proceeds were moved through money exchange shops in the Toronto and Vancouver areas. Treasury also says several firms changed names and addresses to avoid enforcement, so a trading name on a storefront or website may not match the legal name on the sanctions list.
| Designated entity | Trading name | Province |
|---|---|---|
| Diverse Trade Inc | Million Exchange | Ontario |
| 1380079 BC Limited | Amin Exchange | British Columbia |
| Top PC Technician Inc | Amin Exchange | Ontario |
| NIA Nations Currency Ltd | NIA Nations | British Columbia |
| 2397639 Ontario Ltd | Farah Exchange | Ontario |
| CCC Inc | — | Ontario |
| B Galaxy Inc | Cryptoyal | Ontario |
| Darvish Exchange | — | Ontario |
Source: U.S. Treasury press release sb0686, November 6, 2026. Designations are allegations made under U.S. administrative authority.
The legal effect is American in scope: property of these firms in the United States or held by U.S. persons is blocked, and transactions by U.S. persons or passing through the United States are generally prohibited. Treasury adds that other financial institutions may risk exposure if they engage in certain transactions with designated parties. That last sentence is the one that reaches Canadian users in practice, because exchanges and banks screen counterparties well beyond what their home law strictly requires.
None of the eight appears in our casino database, and nothing in Treasury's release mentions online gambling. The relevance is one step upstream, at the point where a player turns dollars into coins.
MEXC: Not a Freeze, but a Reason to Move Carefully
FinCEN's order rests on section 9714(a) of the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act and takes effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. It binds U.S. financial institutions. It does not freeze customer balances and it does not ban MEXC worldwide. MEXC said on November 7 that it was operating normally and reviewing the order with its legal team.
The practical risk sits with the receiving side. Crypto.news reported that OKX chief executive Star Xu warned users against sending funds directly from MEXC, saying funds associated with affected platforms may be frozen. That is one exchange's stated policy, not a legal rule, but other platforms can reach the same decision on their own timetable and without notice.
For a Canadian who keeps a balance at MEXC, the conservative reading is simple. Do not leave withdrawal to the last day of the 30-day window, and do not assume a transfer from MEXC to a second exchange will clear. A withdrawal to a personal wallet the user controls avoids that specific screening step on the way out, although any later deposit to a regulated exchange can still be examined against the coin's history.
Where This Touches the Casino Cashier
Most casinos in our database take coins that a Canadian must first buy somewhere, which makes the on-ramp the weak link rather than the cashier. Bitcoin is the near-universal rail, and stablecoins come close behind it. Interac remains common but is not universal among the brands whose full cashier lists we have mapped.
| Deposit rail | Brands accepting it | Base |
|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin (BTC) | 69 | 76 tracked brands |
| Ethereum (ETH) | 65 | 76 tracked brands |
| Litecoin (LTC) | 60 | 76 tracked brands |
| Tether (USDT) | 58 | 76 tracked brands |
| Dogecoin (DOGE) | 49 | 76 tracked brands |
| Interac | 19 | 30 brands with a mapped fiat cashier |
Source: our tracked database of 76 crypto casinos and our cashier matrix of 30 brands, snapshot of November 9, 2026, compiled from operator sites.
The cash route is the one FINTRAC's numbers point at. Treasury describes couriers carrying bulk cash to exchange shops that converted it into digital assets. A player buying USDT with banknotes at a neighbourhood shop has no way to tell from the counter whether that business is registered, or what else passes through its wallets. Bill C-12, passed in March 2026, raised the penalty for operating without registration to as much as C$5 million or five years in prison on indictment, but that penalty falls on the operator. It does nothing to return a customer's money if a shop disappears.
We covered the earlier stage of this crackdown in our checklist on FINTRAC's registration cancellations. The count has moved sharply since that September piece, and the method described there still applies.
What It Means for Canadian Players
Nothing announced on November 6 makes holding crypto, or depositing it at a casino, an offence for a Canadian. The measures target businesses. The exposure for an individual is operational: a frozen transfer, a closed exchange account, or a shop that stops answering.
- Check the seller. Search the name on FINTRAC's public money services business registry before buying, and compare the legal name as well as the trading name. Treasury's own list shows how far the two can differ.
- Treat registration as a minimum, not an endorsement. Treasury says the firms it named were still operating despite media reports on the risks they posed, and FINTRAC cannot tell you which businesses it is examining.
- Prefer a bank-linked route. A registered platform funded by a transfer in your own name leaves a record you can produce if a bank or casino asks for the source of funds. Our guide to the Interac-to-exchange bridge walks through it.
- Plan the exit before the entry. Coins that left through a flagged counterparty can draw questions when you cash out, so read how to withdraw crypto winnings to a Canadian bank before you deposit.
- Keep your MEXC exposure small and early. If you hold funds there, move them well before the FinCEN order takes effect, and to a wallet you control.
Gambling should only ever involve money you can afford to lose. Free, confidential support is listed on our responsible gambling page.
Sources
FINTRAC — Public Statement: Sanctions on Canadian Money Services Businesses (November 6, 2026)- U.S. Treasury — Operation Economic Outcast Sanctions Eight Canadian Money Services Businesses (sb0686)
- U.S. Treasury — Operation Economic Outcast Severs MEXC Global's Access to the U.S. Financial System (sb0685)