CoinEx to shut down exchange by December citing market downturn

Cryptocurrency exchange CoinEx has begun a staged shutdown of its operations, citing a prolonged market downturn, reduced industry liquidity, and rising compliance costs. The company announced the wind-down on September 14, 2026, with the process set to conclude with a full cessation of services on December 22, 2026. The shutdown started on September 15, when CoinEx halted new user registrations and placed its futures trading into a reduce-only mode. All non-spot services, including margin trading, lending, staking, and fiat channels, are scheduled to end on September 22. Spot trading will cease on September 29, after which the platform will process remaining non-USDT asset balances. CoinEx CEO Haipo Yang stated in a public post that the decision followed a reflection on the company's position and the growing difficulty of containing security and compliance risks. The exchange attributed its exit to a sustained contraction in the crypto market, which has weakened trading volumes and liquidity, alongside regulatory requirements and operational costs that have "exceeded reasonable boundaries.