Crypto news, 7 November 2026: a week of outflows for bitcoin ETFs, FinCEN cuts off MEXC and the 401(k) rule reaches the White House
US spot bitcoin ETFs end the week with 1,281.7 million in net outflows, FinCEN issues an order against the MEXC Global exchange, the Department of Labor sends its 401(k) investment rule to the White House and Elliptic updates its tracing of the funds stolen from Binance.
Saturday, 7 November 2026. We gather the relevant facts of the last 24 hours, each checked against a primary or reliable source. The market is flat after the mid-week drop, while the main news comes from Washington: an anti-money-laundering order against a large exchange and a step forward for the rule on 401(k) retirement plans.
Markets and ETFs: a week closed with 1,281.7 million in outflows
According to Investing.com historical data, bitcoin closed on Friday 6 November at 75,738 dollars, after an intraday low of 74,793 dollars, and on Saturday it is trading in a narrow range just below 76,000 dollars. The sharpest drop of the week came on 5 November, at 5.5%. Farside Investors data show that US spot bitcoin ETFs recorded 411.9 million dollars in net outflows on Friday: BlackRock's IBIT lost 403.0 million, while Fidelity's FBTC took in 42.8 million. Over the five sessions from 2 to 6 November, net outflows add up to 1,281.7 million, with only one positive day (74.6 million on 4 November). Ether ETFs lost 93.3 million on Friday and 365.2 million over the week.
Anti-money laundering: FinCEN cuts MEXC Global off from the US financial system
On 6 November the US Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an order naming MEXC Global an institution of primary money laundering concern in connection with Russian illicit finance. According to the Treasury press release, between May 2021 and May 2026 the exchange facilitated at least 16 billion dollars in transactions linked to sanctions evasion (Russia, Iran, North Korea) and cybercrime. The order bars US financial institutions from any transmittal of funds to or from MEXC Global and takes effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. MEXC says it is operating normally, intends to engage with FinCEN and has started an independent review of its controls.
Retirement: the Department of Labor's 401(k) rule under White House review
The official regulatory review register (reginfo.gov) shows that on 5 November the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs received the Department of Labor rule "Fiduciary Duties In Selecting Designated Investment Alternatives" (RIN 1210-AC38), at the final rule stage and classified as economically significant. According to The Block, the text concerns how fiduciaries select alternative investments, including cryptocurrencies, in 401(k) retirement plans. The final wording is not yet public.
Security: laundering of the funds stolen from Binance speeds up
In its 6 November update, Elliptic estimates that the perpetrators of the 6.43 billion dollar theft from Binance, attributed to North Korea, have converted about 1,650 BTC (around 124 million dollars) from other stolen assets, mainly XRP swapped through THORChain. The operation involves more than 20,000 wallets on 16 blockchains and at least 65,000 transactions. According to The Block, about 2.85 billion has been frozen and about 3.11 billion remains in addresses linked to the attack; Elliptic believes only a negligible amount has been cashed out so far.
Sources
- Farside Investors, bitcoin ETF flows: https://farside.co.uk/btc/
- Farside Investors, ether ETF flows: https://farside.co.uk/eth/
- Investing.com, bitcoin historical data (BRTI): https://www.investing.com/indices/bitcoin-real-time-historical-data
- U.S. Department of the Treasury, FinCEN order on MEXC Global: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0685
- MEXC, statement on the FinCEN order: https://www.mexc.com/announcements/article/statement-regarding-fincen-s-november-6-order-17827791539626
- Reginfo.gov, review of RIN 1210-AC38: https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eoDetails?rrid=1591871
- The Block, The Daily of 7 November 2026: https://www.theblock.co/newsletters/the-daily/2026-11-07-treasury-mexc-crypto-401k-435962
- Elliptic, laundering of the funds stolen from Binance: https://www.elliptic.co/insights/how-north-korea-is-laundering-the-6-4-billion-stolen-from-binance/
- The Block, Elliptic update on Binance: https://www.theblock.co/news/markets/2026-11-06-binance-hackers-swap-stolen-tokens-124-million-bitcoin-exchange-plans-withdrawal-reopenings-435930
