Key facts
- Hong Kong-founded crypto exchange CoinEx will cease operations by December 22, 2026.
- The exchange cited prolonged market weakness and rising compliance costs.
- New account registrations and referral rewards have stopped.
- Spot trading will end on September 29.
- CoinEx will repurchase its native token, CET, at 0.005 USDT.
- CoinEx stated its reserve ratio is above 100%.
Cryptocurrency exchange CoinEx announced Tuesday that it will cease operations and begin an orderly wind-down, closing the exchange on December 22, 2026, nine years after it launched. Founder and CEO Haipo Yang cited prolonged market weakness and increasing compliance demands as reasons for the closure, framing it as a deliberate exit rather than a forced one.
New account registrations and referral rewards have already stopped, and futures trading has moved into reduce-only mode. Non-spot services will shut down on September 22, with spot trading ending on September 29. Users have until December 22, 2026, to withdraw their funds.
Holders of CoinEx's native token, CET, will have the option to sell their tokens back to the exchange at its original listing price of 0.005 USDT from September 15 through September 29. CoinEx stated that its reserve ratio is above 100%, ensuring user assets are fully backed throughout the process.
The closure follows similar announcements from other exchanges like BitMEX and BitMart, which have also cited thinner trading volumes and heavier regulatory burdens. CoinEx's exit also comes months after it faced scrutiny over alleged ties to sanctioned Iranian platforms.