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CoinEx announced on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, that it will wind down operations after nearly nine years in the crypto industry. The exchange cited a prolonged market downturn, shrinking trading volumes, and rising regulatory compliance costs across major jurisdictions as the key reasons behind the decision.
CoinEx first launched in December 2017 as a project by mining pool operator ViaBTC, and it currently ranks as the 33rd largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. The company reported around 58 million dollars in 24-hour trading volume at the time of the announcement, a figure far behind leading Asia-based rivals.
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CoinEx has already halted new user registrations and switched futures positions to reduce-only status. Non-spot services, including margin trading, staking, and lending, will end on September 22.
Spot trading will stop on September 29, and the platform will officially shut down on December 22. Founder and CEO Haipo Yang shared a personal message on X about the decision.
"CoinEx did not become one of the industry's leading exchanges," Yang wrote, adding that he wanted to give the platform "a decent ending" by ensuring users can withdraw their assets in full. He also said he had considered selling the exchange but felt a clean closure was the better path forward.
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CoinEx says its reserve ratio remains above 100 percent, meaning all user assets stay fully backed until withdrawal. Any USDT left unclaimed after December 22 will move into independent custody, which will charge a monthly fee of 5 percent starting then, with a claims deadline set for August 22, 2028.
The exchange will buy back its native CET token at 0.005 USDT each, with no cap on quantity. CoinEx Wallet and CoinEx Vault will continue operating as separate services unaffected by the closure. This shutdown follows similar closures at BitMart and BitMEX, reflecting a wider consolidation trend across the crypto exchange industry this year.
