TL;DR:
- CoinEx is closing its centralized exchange after nine years, blaming the prolonged market downturn, weaker trading volumes and liquidity, and rising regulatory and compliance costs.
- Non-spot services and most deposits end September 22, spot trading ends September 29, and withdrawals remain available until December 22.
- Unclaimed USDT will move to independent custody with a 5% monthly fee, while CoinEx Wallet and CoinEx Vault will continue operating separately afterward for users.
CoinEx is shutting down its centralized exchange after nine years, citing a prolonged market downturn, shrinking trading volumes and liquidity, and rising regulatory and compliance costs. New user registrations, referral commissions and other rewards are being halted as the wind-down begins. The closure turns years of operating pressure into a full exit from exchange services rather than another round of retrenchment. Founder and CEO Haipo Yang said security and compliance risks had become increasingly difficult to contain, while emphasizing that users should be able to withdraw their assets in full before operations end across a difficult cycle.
Dear CoinEx Community,
Today, I am announcing that CoinEx will cease operations and begin an orderly wind-down.
First, what matters most: your assets are safe. CoinEx’s reserve ratio exceeds 100%, and every user asset is fully backed and available for withdrawal. Withdrawals…
— Haipo Yang (@yhaiyang) September 15, 2026
The shutdown will unfold in stages. From September 22, CoinEx plans to discontinue all non-spot services and onchain deposits, except CET deposits, while futures contracts move into reduce-only mode and fiat, margin, lending, earn, staking and strategic trading stop accepting new orders. September 29 becomes the central cutoff, when spot trading ends and remaining non-USDT assets may be processed into USDT. Withdrawals will stay open until December 22, giving customers additional time to remove funds before the exchange ceases operations and any remaining USDT is transferred to independent custody under the announced schedule.
Withdrawal Deadlines Define CoinEx’s Final Months
Assets left after December 22 will move to an independent custodian, where a monthly fee equal to 5% of the original balance will apply. Customers will have until August 22, 2028 to claim those funds. The timeline makes withdrawal urgency one of the most important practical consequences of the shutdown for remaining users. CoinEx also plans to repurchase CET at its original listing price of 0.005 USDT per token, slightly above its price before the closure announcement, while CoinEx Wallet and CoinEx Vault will continue operating independently from the centralized exchange during the wind-down period.
CoinEx launched in December 2017 through mining pool ViaBTC and grew to serve users across more than 200 countries and regions. It exited the U.S. market in 2023 after settling a New York lawsuit over alleged unregistered operations. The exchange is choosing an orderly closure instead of a sale, with Yang saying he wanted a clean ending for users and employees. The shutdown follows a difficult industry backdrop in which other exchanges have also ceased operations, underscoring how weaker volumes, thinner liquidity and higher compliance costs can challenge platforms even after years of global expansion.
