CoinEx to cease operation after 9 years, citing ‘significant’ crypto contraction

Crypto exchange CoinEx said it is winding down operations, citing a prolonged crypto market downturn, sinking trading volumes and liquidity, and rising regulatory and compliance costs, according to an announcement on Tuesday.

As part of the wind-down, CoinEx will halt new user registrations, referral commissions and other rewards. Futures contracts will enter a “Reduce-Only” mode. CoinEx will also stop accepting new orders or subscriptions across its fiat, margin trading, lending, earn, staking and strategic trading services.

“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,” CoinEx CEO Haipo Yang said in a post on X.

The closure adds to a wave of crypto exchanges that have ceased operations this year for similar reasons, including BitMart, BitMEX and AscendEX.

From Sept. 22, CoinEx will discontinue all non-spot services and onchain deposits, with the exception of 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. Any unwithdrawn USDT will be transferred to an independent custodian, which will incur a monthly custody fee.