Pseudonymous trader White Whale has launched a campaign against the cryptocurrency exchange MEXC after more than $3 million of his funds were frozen.
A Year-Long 'Review' Sparks Outrage
According to the trader, his account was locked in July despite completing KYC procedures and having no history of terms-of-service violations. MEXC allegedly informed him that the freeze could last for 12 months under its internal review process — an explanation he dismissed as absurd.
"My only crime was being too profitable," he wrote on X, arguing that he consistently outperformed the exchange’s market-making partners, which may have triggered the clampdown.
Turning Protest Into Incentives
Rather than fight behind closed doors, White Whale is taking his case to the public square. He has urged supporters to mint a free NFT on Base, update their profiles with campaign imagery, and tag MEXC executives with the hashtag #FreeTheWhiteWhale.
To sweeten the protest, he pledged $1 million in USDC to be distributed among the first 20,000 participants if the funds are released, and another $1 million earmarked for charities, with donations tracked on-chain.
MEXC’s Defense and Market Makers Debate
MEXC, in response to growing criticism, said the trader’s account restrictions were the result of risk-control triggers, not retaliation for trading profits. A company spokesperson explained that flagged accounts are sometimes required to undergo enhanced KYC checks and, in rare cases, may be held for up to a year if linked to 'coordinated violations' or compliance risks.
The exchange denied that profitability was a factor, saying all actions were based strictly on risk management protocols.
Whether White Whale’s campaign succeeds or not, the controversy is already shining a spotlight on how much control centralized platforms can exert over customer assets. With a $2 million bounty driving online engagement, the clash could become a case study in how traders fight back against the very exchanges they rely on.
