MEXC named Vugar Usi chief operating officer on December 3, 2025, in a release distributed through Chainwire and PR Newswire1. The release said Usi would “lead global business transformation, operational excellence, go-to-market execution, and strategic market expansion,” with particular focus on Eastern Europe, Turkey, the Commonwealth of Independent States and Latin America. Cryptonomist reported the appointment on December 4, 2025, calling it “a pivotal moment not only for the company but also for the entire cryptocurrency exchange sector”2.
The second executive hire at MEXC on the record since 2025
Every move CryptoLately has verified there, by the day it became public
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Sept. 22, 2025 | Hsueh became Chief Strategy Officer. Cecilia Hsueh was named Chief Strategy Officer of MEXC |
| Dec. 3, 2025 | Usi became COO. Vugar Usi was named Chief Operating Officer of MEXC |
| April 8, 2026 | Usi became CEO. Vugar Usi was named Chief Executive Officer of MEXC |
| July 22, 2026 | MacDonald became Chief Compliance Officer. Robert MacDonald was named Chief Compliance Officer of MEXC |
59 executive hires on the record in 2025, the most of any year
Executive hires CryptoLately has verified, by year; 2026 through Oct. 2, 2026
- 2025: 59
- 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2026
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 11 |
| 2020 | 12 |
| 2021 | 27 |
| 2022 | 37 |
| 2023 | 20 |
| 2024 | 39 |
| 2025 | 59 |
| 2026 | 45 |
The move
MEXC's release credited Usi with “over 15 years of experience driving high-growth transformations across Fortune 500 companies and leading Web3 platforms”1. He was most recently chief operating officer at Bitget. There, he helped the exchange grow “from a top-20 platform into the world's 4th largest crypto exchange, achieving fivefold user growth to over 120 million users globally”. Cecilia Hsueh, MEXC's chief strategy officer, set high goals for the hire in the same release. "We are not focused on simply becoming better," Hsueh said, “we are focused on raising the entire standard for what a global crypto exchange should be. Vugar brings the rare combination of scale-building experience, transformation leadership, and regulatory discipline needed to help realize that mission”. Usi described his own reaction to the offer. “I have closely followed MEXC's growth over the past four years, and it is a privilege to join at such a pivotal moment for both the company and the global crypto industry,” Usi said.
MEXC before and after the hire
Before Usi's arrival, MEXC had more than 40 million users across more than 170 markets, its release said1. MEXC ranked among the world's most liquid and fastest-growing platforms, built on zero-fee trading and rapid token listings. The release also listed Usi's earlier roles at Facebook, Bain & Company, Coca-Cola and Sony. He co-founded a marketing-technology company and holds degrees from Harvard University and the University of Oxford, the release said. In his new role, Usi also took on oversight of “policy, regulatory, and compliance readiness as MEXC continues to expand across global markets,” the release said.
What to watch
MEXC promoted him fast. CoinDesk reported on April 8, 2026, that MEXC had made Usi chief executive, just over four months after his hire as operations chief3. He planned to turn MEXC into a "trade everything" platform spanning tokenized stocks, commodities and prediction markets built around its retail trading base, CoinDesk reported. Usi told CoinDesk that compliance readiness had been "one of the key missing points in MEXC's growth". He said the exchange had "kick-started" conversations with regulators across Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Watch for two things: a better grade than the "lower tier" rating for risk and compliance that CoinDesk's April 8, 2026 report cited, and licenses from those regulatory talks. Either would show whether Usi, hired in December 2025, has fixed the compliance work he called missing.
Sources
- MEXC, "MEXC Appoints Vugar Usi as Chief Operating Officer to Accelerate Global Growth and Redefine User-First Crypto Trading Experience," Chainwire/PR Newswire, December 3, 2025, https://chainwire.org/2025/12/03/mexc-appoints-vugar-usi-as-chief-operating-officer-to-accelerate-global-growth-and-redefine-user-first-crypto-trading-experience/
- Cryptonomist, "MEXC announce Vugar Usi as new COO: a new chapter begins for the exchange," Cryptonomist, December 4, 2025, https://en.cryptonomist.ch/2025/12/04/mexc-vugar-usi-new-coo/
- Sam Reynolds, "MEXC's new CEO wants to tame a memecoin machine without killing what made it work," CoinDesk, April 8, 2026, https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiwwFBVV95cUxNOHVGRnBhaVdLSnBpc3loUFRqV3dIWWhGV0poUHJtUU8tVUFDWkJSbVhUSDA0bjk4Sm90aGFPeHREVG9FMmgxeEdoSnpEdFktX3A3V3BUNmZRaS1NV3VzY2NIMGFNdkEzeDhtMTZMUkR1dUVEUjFJeDVlUmc3MS1JcGE5ODZfM3pzUEJNQVNxX3kzekZ5U3lVZnVMQjR0UHZaQ0NaYkU2NlZqSDhvRnFKUzVBMDhMLTd0eDQ1MXVIb3ctT0k?oc=5