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Crypto exchange CoinEx will close after nine years of operation, blaming a prolonged market downturn, weaker trading activity, and growing pressure from regulation and compliance obligations.
The Seychelles-based platform will stop taking new registrations on Sept. 15 and plans to discontinue most exchange services by Sept. 29. Withdrawals will remain available until Dec. 22, giving users nearly three months after the main shutdown to remove their assets.
Market Weakness and Rising Compliance Burden Drive Exit
CoinEx attributed its decision partly to a tougher regulatory environment and rising compliance costs. The exchange also pointed to an extended market slump that had reduced trading volumes and liquidity across the industry, making conditions increasingly challenging.
Founder and CEO Haipo Yang said the risks involved in operating a crypto trading platform had become increasingly difficult to manage and ultimately influenced the decision to close.
“After much reflection, I have come to accept a hard truth,” Yang wrote on X, adding that security and compliance risks had become progressively harder to manage.
Yang said he had seriously considered selling CoinEx but decided that closing the platform was preferable because he wanted a “clean ending.”
He acknowledged that the exchange had fallen short of his original ambitions despite serving millions of users over its nine-year history. Yang said his priority in winding down the business was to ensure customers could recover all of their holdings while providing employees with what he described as a dignified departure.
CoinEx Sets Withdrawal and Custody Deadlines
CoinEx said assets remaining on the platform after Sept. 29 could be converted into $USDT. Any $USDT left unclaimed after Dec. 22 will be transferred to an independent custodian, which will charge a monthly fee equal to 5% of the initial balance. Users can recover those funds through the custodian until Aug. 22, 2028.
CoinEx Faced Regulatory Scrutiny Before Closure
TRM Labs alleged in a report released earlier in 2026 that CoinEx had processed flows exceeding $3.8 billion linked to Iranian entities over a period beginning in 2019. According to TRM Labs, the transactions involved Nobitex and other sanctioned counterparties.
CoinEx had served customers across over 200 countries and regions. It exited the U.S. in 2023 after settling a lawsuit brought by the New York Attorney General, which accused the company of lacking the registration required to operate.