Kraken has expanded its agreement with cryptocurrency exchange MEXC into France, where MEXC is winding down local operations and referring affected customers to Kraken. The November 6 announcement extends a similar transition arrangement previously launched in the Netherlands. The exchange says the purpose is to give customers an alternative platform for trading and asset transfers, although the number of affected users and commercial terms were not disclosed.
Kraken’s November 6 statement confirms the French expansion and outlines the account transfer process. The deal comes as European crypto exchanges navigate the Markets in Crypto-Assets regulatory framework, which imposes authorization and operational requirements on service providers. A customer referral is different from an automatic migration: customers must make account and transfer decisions themselves.
European licensing shapes the arrangement
Kraken says it has held MiCA authorization from the Central Bank of Ireland since June 2025. The company also describes separate Cyprus authorization for financial instruments and Irish e-money authorization. These permissions govern different services and should not be interpreted as blanket access to every product across every country. Kraken says its platform provides more than 600 crypto assets, more than 1,000 tokenized assets and euro fiat services, subject to user and regional eligibility.
Kraken says MEXC customers should use the same email address when registering and complete identity verification, including a knowledge test. A priority queue targets onboarding in less than 24 hours, but review is not guaranteed to finish within that period. Customers cannot assume their existing exchange accounts, investment positions or unlisted assets will be transferred without action.
Asset availability may affect transfers
Assets supported on MEXC may not all be available on Kraken. The announced guidance suggests converting unsupported holdings into 
USDC market price and chart before transferring, where appropriate. Such a conversion may involve trading costs, market price differences or tax consequences. Users should verify the network and deposit address before transferring funds, rather than assume matching ticker symbols mean the same blockchain representation.
Kraken says both companies will support the process, but has not released data on completed transfers or the total value of assets moved. Nor has it specified a universal customer deadline in the announcement. Customers should rely on direct account notices, official support pages and applicable local rules when deciding how to proceed.
What the agreement means for European exchanges
The agreement illustrates how changing regulatory conditions can create customer-acquisition opportunities for authorized rivals when another platform reduces regional operations. Whether that produces a smooth transition depends on practical issues such as onboarding capacity, supported assets and withdrawal processing. Independent migration totals and any subsequent regulatory statements would give a clearer picture of the outcome.
Another unresolved issue is whether affected customers will encounter changes in the availability of derivatives, tokenized instruments or banking services after transferring. Each product can have its own suitability rules, fee structure and regional permissions. An exchange’s headline number of supported cryptocurrencies is therefore less useful than the exact list of services available to a particular verified customer. Future reporting should track MEXC’s customer notices, Kraken’s documented onboarding experience and any regulator statements rather than assume the referral agreement resolves all access issues.
