Key Points
- CoinEx will officially shut down on December 22, 2026, marking nine years since its inception, with new account registrations already suspended and spot trading concluding on September 29.
- Haipo Yang, founder and CEO, opted against selling the exchange in favor of a "clean ending," committing to repurchase its CET token at the original listing price of 0.005 USDT without a limit.
- This closure places CoinEx alongside BitMEX and BitMart, which are also shutting down in 2026, following scrutiny regarding alleged crypto transactions linked to Iran.
Cryptocurrency exchange CoinEx announced on Tuesday that it will wind down operations, officially closing its platform on December 22—exactly nine years after its launch in 2017. Users will need to withdraw their funds before this deadline.
Haipo Yang attributed the decision to ongoing market challenges and increasing regulatory pressures. He noted on X that "the security and compliance risks of running a crypto exchange have become increasingly difficult to contain," emphasizing that the closure was a planned exit rather than a forced one.
Myriad: What is Bitcoin's next move? Share your thoughts here.Yang considered selling CoinEx but ultimately chose not to, aiming for what he described as a "clean ending" for the exchange's employees, users, and holders of the CoinEx token instead of transferring ownership to someone else.
The closing process follows a structured timeline. New registrations and referral incentives ceased immediately, and futures trading was switched to a reduce-only mode.
Services other than spot trading were terminated on September 22, with spot trading concluding on September 29. Withdrawals will be fully closed by December 22.
For holders of CoinEx's CET token, there is a built-in exit option. Between September 15 and September 29, CoinEx will buy back the token at 0.005 USDT—its initial listing price—with no volume cap, and any remaining balances will be automatically converted at the same rate afterward.
CoinEx confirmed that its reserve ratio exceeds 100%, ensuring that user assets are completely backed during this transition. Around the time of the announcement, the platform's reported 24-hour trading volume was in the tens of millions of dollars, significantly lower than that of the largest global exchanges.
This closure adds CoinEx to an increasing list of exchanges shutting down this year. BitMEX recently revealed its plans to close after 11 years, while BitMart followed suit shortly after, concluding its own nine-year operation.
CoinEx's decision also comes in the wake of scrutiny regarding its connections to Iran, with TRM Labs alleging in June that over $3.8 billion in transactions occurred between CoinEx and various sanctioned Iranian platforms over seven years, a claim CoinEx denied at that time.
Users can continue to withdraw their funds until December 22, 2026, when CoinEx will officially close its doors permanently.