CoinEx to Close by December 22, Halts New User Registrations

After nine years of operation, CoinEx is shutting down. The exchange stopped accepting new users on Tuesday and will fully close by December 22.

The Hong Kong-based firm cited a sustained market slump, shrinking industry volumes and liquidity, and regulatory compliance expenses that have become unsustainable.

What Pushed CoinEx Toward the Exit

The shutdown follows a gradual withdrawal from regulated jurisdictions. In 2023, CoinEx reached a settlement with New York Attorney General Letitia James, exiting the U.S. market.

Under that agreement, over $1.1 million was returned to New York investors, and more than $600,000 was paid in state penalties. The exchange was also prohibited from offering its services within the state.

Token holders are getting a premium exit. CoinEx is buying back all outstanding CoinEx Token (CET) at 0.005 USDT each, with no limit on quantity and no additional requirements.

On Tuesday, CET was trading at $0.00466, roughly 7% below the buyback price, and approximately 97% lower than its July 2018 high of $0.15029, according to BeInCrypto Markets data.

The Clock Users Are Now Racing

Starting Tuesday, futures contracts were switched to reduce-only mode. New orders for fiat, margin, loans, Earn, staking, and strategic trading were also halted the same day.

All non-spot services will end on September 22. Spot trading is scheduled to close on September 29, alongside the CoinEx Smart Chain (CSC) and decentralized exchange OneSwap.

CoinEx claims its reserve ratio exceeds 100% and that all user balances are fully backed. Withdrawals will remain available until December 22, regardless of other closures.

Unwithdrawn assets will incur a fee. USDT left behind will be placed in independent custody and charged a monthly fee of 5% of the recorded balance. Claims can be submitted until August 22, 2028.

CoinEx Wallet and CoinEx Vault operate separately and will continue running. The company also advised users to disregard any future communications claiming to be from the exchange.

“Any purported ‘new announcements,’ ‘supplementary rules,’ or ‘policy changes’ subsequently issued in CoinEx’s name are fraudulent.”
— CoinEx

How much of those funds are actually withdrawn before the December 22 deadline will determine how smooth this closure turns out to be.