MEXC was officially available in the USA like a year ago but they folded like most other platforms due to regulatory scrutiny. I'm not sure why people are worried about the risk of using a VPN. I've never seen an exchange cut off usage without being able to withdraw money from the account (unlike traditional banking).

Last I checked it was very easy to buy Hive through wrapped assets on HiveEngine, as deposits on assets like MATIC and LTC are not only free but tilted in favor of the depositor. In many situations one can buy more Hive from HE than they would have gotten from a normal exchange. However unwrapping the SWAP.HIVE into Hive is a 0.75% fee or something which is higher than any exchange fee.

Regardless of all this the fact that Hive isn't listed on an exchange with a fiat ramp is hugely problematic for the average user.