What happened?
Centralized crypto exchange CoinEx announced on September 15 that it will cease operations after nine years. According to CryptoSlate, the exchange said its model is no longer sustainable due to declining revenue and rising compliance costs.
Founder Haipo Yang, as reported by CryptoSlate, said that CoinEx failed to become one of the industry's leading exchanges. The platform launched in December 2017 (according to Decrypt) and was founded in Hong Kong.
What is the shutdown timeline?
According to the sources, CoinEx is winding down in phases. The key dates are summarized in the following table.
| Step | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Shutdown announcement | September 15 | CryptoSlate |
| End of spot trading | September 29 | CryptoSlate, The Defiant |
| Withdrawals close | December 22, 2:00 UTC | The Defiant |
| Platform closure | December 22 | The Defiant |
CryptoSlate further notes that new registrations have been halted, futures markets have switched to reduce-only mode, and other products, including margin trading, loans, Earn, and staking, are being gradually discontinued.
When exactly will the platform close for good?
Caution is needed here. The Defiant writes that the platform will close on December 22, or "exactly nine years after its launch." The Polish outlet CrypS.pl, however, lists the closure date of the entire platform as December 22, 2026. Given that the exchange was founded in December 2017, the sources do not fully agree on the specific year. We therefore mark the exact year of final closure as unverified.
What happens to unwithdrawn funds?
According to CrypS.pl, clients must withdraw their crypto by December 22 at the latest, because after that it will become significantly more difficult to retrieve. CrypS.pl states that unwithdrawn USDT will be moved to an external custody (deposit) subject to a fee, with the retained USDT to be reduced by 5% per month.
At the same time, according to CrypS.pl, CoinEx declares that its reserves exceed 100% and that all client funds are available for withdrawal. We have not independently verified this reserve figure; it is a claim made by the exchange.
Does this fit a broader trend?
CryptoSlate places the end of CoinEx in the context of trading activity concentrating among the largest exchanges. A smaller platform, based on the reasons cited (lower volumes, lower liquidity, higher compliance costs), reached the limit of viability. CrypS.pl describes it in its headline as "another exchange disappearing from the market."
Whether this represents a broader wave of departures by smaller exchanges or an isolated case does not clearly emerge from these four sources.
What to watch out for with this type of event?
This is not advice on what to do with your money. It is a description of how similar exchange departures usually unfold and what can be verified from public announcements:
- Withdrawal deadlines are firm. The sources cite the end of spot trading on September 29 and the closure of withdrawals on December 22.
- Unwithdrawn funds may be subject to fees. CrypS.pl describes a monthly reduction of retained USDT by 5%.
- The claim about reserves is a claim made by the exchange, not an independently confirmed audit within these sources.
What we still don't know
It is not clear from the cited sources whether and how funds left unwithdrawn after the deadline will be repaid beyond the described external custody, what exact fee the external deposit will carry, or the definitive year of the platform's closure. We mark these points as unverified.