Cryptocurrency exchange CoinEx is officially closing its doors after operating in the digital asset sector for nearly ten years. Headquartered in the Seychelles, the platform announced that it is entering an orderly wind-down process, assuring its global user base that all customer assets remain fully backed by reserves and safe from the pressures that led to the closure.
According to the official timeline released by the exchange, user withdrawals officially opened on September 15, 2026. Clients will be able to retrieve their funds until the final deadline at 02:00 UTC on December 22, 2026. The platform originally launched on December 22, 2017, meaning it will formally cease all operations exactly nine years to the day after its inception.
Founder and CEO Haipo Yang addressed the community directly in a public statement, emphasizing that user protection and a clean, honorable exit remain his highest priorities as the company winds down its infrastructure.
"Dear CoinEx Community, Today, I am announcing that CoinEx will cease operations and begin an orderly wind-down," Yang wrote in his statement, noting that the platform’s financial health remains robust despite broader industry headwinds. He added that CoinEx maintains an asset reserve ratio exceeding 100%, ensuring that every user asset is fully accounted for and readily available for withdrawal during the designated window.
The decision to shutter the exchange stems from a combination of persistent market downturns, declining trading volumes across the wider digital asset landscape, and sharply rising regulatory and operational costs. While acquisition offers were floated as a potential alternative to closure, Yang ultimately decided against selling the platform to a third party. He explained that handing over the platform and the trust of its community to a new owner did not feel like the right way to conclude the exchange’s long journey, preferring instead a definitive and responsible wind-down.
As part of the shutdown procedure, CoinEx’s native utility token, CET, will be subject to a special repurchase program. The exchange announced that CET tokens will be bought back at their initial launch price of 0.005 USDT with no upper cap. The buyback aims to provide a baseline level of restitution for holders of the token, which has suffered steep declines alongside the platform’s broader operational challenges. At the time of writing, CET is trading at approximately $0.00049, reflecting a staggering decrease of roughly 97% from its all-time high of $0.15, which was reached during the major crypto market bull run of 2018.
The wind-down of services will phase out gradually through the final months of the year, though user wallets and personal vaults will remain unaffected during the active withdrawal phase. However, users who fail to withdraw their funds before the December 22, 2026 deadline will face subsequent administrative hurdles. Following the expiration of the withdrawal window, a 5% monthly custody fee will be applied to any remaining balances left on the platform until the final asset claim cutoff date on August 22, 2028.
The closure of CoinEx arrives a little over three years after the exchange was forced to exit the United States market following intense regulatory scrutiny. In February 2023, New York State Attorney General Letitia James filed a high-profile lawsuit against CoinEx for operating within the state without proper registration as a broker-dealer. CoinEx ultimately resolved the legal action by agreeing to pay a settlement of a little over $1.7 million in June 2023, while simultaneously blocking all traffic and users originating from the United States.
The exit from the lucrative US market served as an early indicator of the tightening global regulatory net that smaller and mid-sized international exchanges would face in the subsequent years, contributing significantly to the mounting operational pressures that have now culminated in the platform’s complete closure.
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