Crypto exchange CoinEx said it is winding down operations, pointing to a prolonged downturn in the crypto market, falling trading volumes and liquidity, and rising regulatory and compliance costs. In its announcement on Tuesday, the company said withdrawals will remain available until Dec. 22.
Shutdown will roll out in stages
As part of the process, CoinEx will stop new user registrations, referral commissions and other rewards. Futures contracts will move into reduce-only mode. The exchange will also stop taking new orders or subscriptions across its fiat services, margin trading, lending, earn products, staking and strategic trading services.
CoinEx CEO Haipo Yang said in a post on X: "After much reflection, I have come to accept a hard truth. CoinEx did not become one of the industry’s leading exchanges, and the security and compliance risks of running a crypto exchange have become increasingly difficult to contain."
Timeline for service suspension
CoinEx laid out a timetable for the closure:
- From Sept. 22, all non-spot services and onchain deposits will be discontinued, except for CET deposits.
- From Sept. 29, all spot trading services will be discontinued, and non-USDT assets will be processed.
- From Dec. 22, the withdrawal period will end and the platform will cease operations.
The company added that any USDT not withdrawn by Dec. 22 will be transferred to an independent custodian, with a monthly custody fee applied.
CET buyback and remaining products
CoinEx said it will buy back CET at its initial listing price of 0.005 USDT per token. The report said that price was slightly above where CET traded on Monday before the announcement.
CoinEx Wallet and CoinEx Vault will remain fully operational, as both operate independently from the exchange.
Background and market position
CoinEx was launched in December 2017 by crypto mining pool ViaBTC. According to CoinMarketCap, the exchange ranks 33rd by 24-hour trading volume, at $58 million.
The closure adds to a list of crypto exchanges that have ceased operations this year for similar reasons, including BitMart, BitMEX and AscendEX.
In its message to users, CoinEx wrote: "To every user who has trusted and supported us over the past nine years, thank you for your trust and support in the past nine years. Thank you for being part of our journey."