CoinEx Closure: Users Have Until December 22 to Withdraw Their Cryptos

CoinEx will cease operations on December 22, 2026, exactly nine years after its launch. The exchange began scaling back its services on September 15 and is now asking users to withdraw their funds. Spot trading will stop on September 29. CoinEx explains its decision by citing prolonged weakness in the crypto market, declining volumes and liquidity, as well as compliance costs that have become too burdensome.

In Brief

• CoinEx will permanently close on December 22, 2026.
• Spot trading will end on September 29.
• The exchange claims to have reserves exceeding 100% of its clients' assets.

CoinEx Gives Users Three Months

New registrations are already closed. Since September 15, CoinEx has also stopped accepting new operations on several services, including lending, staking, or margin trading. The timeline resembles that followed by BitMEX this summer, which announced its closure after eleven years of operation.

On September 22, CoinEx will stop all services outside of the crypto spot market. On-chain deposits will also be blocked, except for CET, the platform's native token. A week later, on September 29, spot trading will also cease. CoinEx Smart Chain and OneSwap are set to close on the same day. Users will then have nearly three months to withdraw their holdings.

On December 22, withdrawals will be cut off, and the crypto platform will shut down. CoinEx opened on December 22, 2017. The chosen date thus marks exactly nine years of operation.

CoinEx assures that its reserves cover more than 100% of the assets held by its clients. This claim comes from the platform itself. Withdrawals are expected to remain available throughout the closure period.

CET Will Be Bought Back at 0.005 USDT

The closure also raises questions about CET. The crypto platform has chosen a straightforward solution: between September 15 and September 29, the exchange will buy back its token at 0.005 USDT per CET, its initial listing price. No volume cap is planned. CET still present in accounts after this period will be automatically converted at the same price.

Founder and CEO Haipo Yang claims to have considered selling CoinEx. He ultimately preferred to shut down the business rather than pass the platform to a new buyer.

To explain this exit, CoinEx cites several issues at once: a long-depressed market, declining volumes, lower liquidity, and increasing regulatory demands in several jurisdictions. Compliance costs and operational uncertainty eventually exceeded what the company deemed acceptable.

However, CoinEx is not leaving after just a few difficult months. The crypto exchange has weathered the bear market of 2018, the crash of 2022, and several periods of high volatility. It is closing in 2026. And it is not alone.

Exchange Closures Multiply in 2026

BitMEX announced its departure in July. A few days later, BitMart also began the gradual closure of its platform. Bit.com had already started its own withdrawal earlier. CoinEx now joins the list.

More broadly, over 100 crypto projects had already closed, filed for bankruptcy, or ceased operations in 2026, according to data from RootData reported in August. Exchanges, crypto wallets, DeFi protocols, and blockchains are affected.

CoinEx is also dealing with another recent issue. In June, TRM Labs claimed to have identified $3.84 billion in flows between the exchange and several sanctioned Iranian entities over more than seven years. CoinEx disputed the existence of business relations with the Iranian government or the platforms involved.

However, the platform does not present this case as the reason for its closure. Its official announcement first mentions the crypto market, volumes, liquidity, and compliance. For clients, the timeline is now more urgent than the reasons for the exit: September 22 for the halt of services outside of spot, September 29 for the end of trading, and December 22 for the final withdrawals. After this date, CoinEx will no longer be accessible.