CoinEx just became the latest crypto exchange to call it quits. The Hong Kong-founded platform, which launched in 2017 and rode out several market cycles, announced on September 15 that it's shutting down for good.
Founder and CEO Haipo Yang put it bluntly: running an exchange stopped making financial sense. Trading volumes and liquidity across the industry have been shrinking, while compliance requirements in one jurisdiction after another keep climbing faster than revenue can cover them. "Carrying unlimited risk for limited revenue is no longer a rational choice," Yang said.
The wind-down happens in stages. New sign-ups stopped on September 15, with futures moved to reduce-only mode and referral rewards cut off. On September 22, margin trading, crypto loans, staking, and most deposit options close. Spot trading ends on September 29, along with CoinEx's own blockchain, CoinEx Smart Chain, and any remaining CET tokens get automatically bought back at $0.005. Withdrawals stay open until December 22, after which leftover USDT balances move into independent custody, with a 5% monthly fee charged against the original balance — claims can still be filed through August 2028.
CoinEx says its reserves cover more than 100% of client obligations, so the money itself isn't the immediate worry. But trust in the exchange had already taken a hit: in June, blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs reported that CoinEx had processed more than $3.8 billion in flows tied to Iranian entities since 2019, including transactions with the sanctioned exchange Nobitex. CoinEx denied any direct commercial ties to Iranian authorities and promised tighter geofencing and transaction monitoring.
CoinEx isn't alone this year — BitMEX closed after eleven years and BitMart folded after nine. The pattern isn't a coincidence: compliance costs across jurisdictions are rising faster than trading volumes are recovering from the downturn, and for mid-sized exchanges without a diversified business, that combination is proving fatal.
