CoinEx is shutting down its cryptocurrency exchange after nearly nine years in the market, citing falling trading volumes, weaker liquidity, and rising regulatory costs. The exchange will begin winding down services on September 15, 2026.
Meanwhile, users will have until December 22 to withdraw their assets before the platform formally closes.
CoinEx Cited Key Reason Behind Shutdown
In a recent announcement, CoinEx said its decision followed a prolonged crypto market downturn, a major drop in industry trading volume and liquidity, and rising regulatory and compliance requirements across major markets.
Founder Yang Haipo gave a more direct explanation. He said CoinEx had survived multiple crypto bull and bear markets but failed to become one of the industry’s leading exchanges, as he had once hoped.
At the same time, the security and compliance risks of running a crypto exchange became increasingly difficult to manage.
Yang said, “Carrying unlimited risk for limited revenue is no longer a rational choice.”
He said he considered selling CoinEx but ultimately rejected the idea because users had entrusted their assets to the platform and, in many cases, to him personally. Instead, he chose to wind down the exchange while ensuring users could withdraw their assets in full.
CoinEx’s Shutdown Timeline
CoinEx has it has begun a phased shutdown, with several deadlines for users to withdraw their funds.
- September 15, 2026: New user registrations and referral rewards end. Futures contracts move to “Reduce-Only” mode.
- September 22, 2026: Margin, Crypto Loans, Staking, Earn, and Futures services close. Most on-chain deposit addresses are also disabled, except CET deposits.
- September 29, 2026: All spot trading pairs close. CoinEx Smart Chain (CSC) and OneSwap also shut down.
- December 22, 2026: Withdrawals close, marking the full shutdown of the exchange.
CoinEx Warns Users Not to Delay Withdrawals or Face 5% Monthly Fee
CoinEx said protecting user funds is now its main priority, with its reserve ratio above 100%. Withdrawals will stay open until December 22, 2026, even as other services shut down.
The exchange urged users to withdraw early, as network congestion, fees, or delays could affect transactions near the deadline.
After December 22, unclaimed USDT will move to independent custody with a 5% monthly custody fee based on the original balance. Users can submit custody claims until August 22, 2028.
CET Holders Will Get a 0.005 USDT Buyback
CoinEx will also close the chapter on its native CET token by buying back remaining CET held in user accounts at 0.005 USDT per token.
The exchange said there will be no quantity limit or additional conditions for the repurchase.
At last, Yang apologized to CET holders, saying CoinEx had not delivered the long-term value the token was originally expected to create.
“I am sorry that we were not able to create the long-term value we once hoped CET would deliver.”
CoinEx Will Close, But Its Wallet Services Stay Open
CoinEx said that the shutdown will not affect ViaBTC, which operates independently as a Bitcoin mining pool. CoinEx Wallet and CoinEx Vault will also continue operating separately from the exchange.
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