CoinEx announced Tuesday that it will shut down operations and initiate a planned wind-down, with the exchange set to close on Dec. 22, nine years after it first launched on 2017. The company has given users until that date to withdraw their funds.
Founder and CEO Haipo Yang tied the decision to a mix of prolonged market weakness and mounting compliance demands. “The security and compliance risks of running a crypto exchange have become increasingly difficult to contain,” Yang wrote on X, framing the closure as a deliberate exit rather than a forced one.
The Wind-Down Schedule
A fixed plan guides the wind-down. Registration for new accounts and referral rewards were shut down at once, while futures trading was shifted to reduce-only mode.
Non-spot services shut down Sept. 22. Spot trading ends Sept. 29. Withdrawals close for good on Dec. 22.
CET holders can also cash out directly, since CoinEx is buying back its own native token. Between Sept. 15 and Sept. 29, the exchange will repurchase CET at 0.005 USDT—its original listing price—without a limit on how much it buys, and then convert any leftover balances at the same rate.
The founder told reporters that he gave serious thought to selling CoinEx before choosing to keep it running himself. His stated reason was that he wanted what he called a “clean ending” for the platform’s staff, users, and CoinEx token holders, instead of passing the exchange on to someone else.
The Numbers Behind the Exit
The exchange said its reserve ratio stays above 100%, so user funds keep full backing throughout the whole process. Around the time of the announcement, its stated 24-hour trading volume sat in the tens of millions of dollars, a figure far below what the world’s largest exchanges report.
CoinEx’s shutdown now joins a rising tally of exchanges closing their doors this year. BitMEX declared it would end its operations after 11 years, and BitMart soon followed, bringing its nine-year run to a close.
The Iran Scrutiny
TRM Labs alleged in June that more than $3.8 billion had flowed between CoinEx and dozens of sanctioned Iranian platforms over seven years. The exchange denied the claim at the time. CoinEx’s exit now follows that scrutiny, which came months after the allegations were made.
Before the announcement, the exchange was already facing questions about its business. Yang framed the closure as a choice, not a failure, yet those questions have not gone away.
What This Means for Users
Dec. 22, 2026 marks the end for users, with spot trading closing Sept. 29 and non-spot services shutting down Sept. 22. The gap between those dates amounts to roughly three months of active trading before the exchange stops accepting new deposits altogether.
Token holders who wish to sell their CET at the original listing price must do so between Sept. 15 and Sept. 29. Beyond that window, any remaining CET balances will be converted automatically at the same rate.
There is no premium attached to the buyback. It runs at the same rate as the CET opening price, which was 0.005 USDT. There is no limit placed on the size of the trade either.
What Comes Next
Nine years after it started, CoinEx will shut down on Dec. 22, 2026. Users have until that date to pull out their money.
Sept. 29 marks the end of spot trading, while the CET buyback window closes Sept. 29, with new signups halted entirely. The wind-down process has been set in stone.
The rules have been laid down. Now the players watch to see how the close-out unfolds.
CoinEx joins a list of exchanges closing their doors this year. BitMEX said it would shut down after 11 years, and BitMart followed days later, winding down its own nine-year run.
The claims made against the exchange by TRM Labs have not yet been settled. At the time, the platform rejected those assertions outright, yet the examination into suspected Iran-linked crypto transactions continues to shadow its winding down.
For users, the key dates are straightforward:
- CET buyback window: Sept. 15–Sept. 29
- Spot trading ends: Sept. 29
- Non-spot services shut: Sept. 22
- Withdrawals close: Dec. 22, 2026
The platform has decided on what it calls a clean approach. Time will be the judge of whether that decision stands.
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