Founder rejects a sale of the platform, saying he chose a “dignified ending” for the exchange instead
🔍 What You Need to Know
- “Dignified exit” over a sale: Founder Haipo Yang seriously considered selling CoinEx, but ultimately decided against it. Instead, he opted for an organized shutdown, ensuring that users could withdraw their assets in full while providing a proper farewell for his employees.
- Critical withdrawal timeline: New registrations have already been suspended, spot trading runs until September 29, 2026, and withdrawals remain open until December 22, 2026. After that, any remaining assets will be transferred to an independent custodian, incurring a 5% monthly fee on the original balance.
- Wave of industry shutdowns: CoinEx joins historical names like BitMEX—which announced the end of its operations after 11 years in the market—in a broader wave of closures driven by heavy regulatory pressure and a prolonged crypto market downturn in 2026.
Hong Kong-based crypto exchange CoinEx announced it will cease operations after nine years, shutting down a platform that serves users in more than 200 countries and regions. The company pointed to the “prolonged downturn” in the crypto market and rising regulatory demands as the reasons behind the decision.
In a letter posted on X and on the company’s official website, founder and CEO Haipo Yang did not hide his frustration:
Dear CoinEx Community,
— Haipo Yang (@yhaiyang) September 15, 2026
Today, I am announcing that CoinEx will cease operations and begin an orderly wind-down.
First, what matters most: your assets are safe. CoinEx’s reserve ratio exceeds 100%, and every user asset is fully backed and available for withdrawal. Withdrawals…
“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.”
A Rare Admission From a CEO
Yang was even more candid about how the decision felt:
“Nine years, millions of users. I did not turn CoinEx into the ‘great’ exchange I once hoped it would become.”
But he made clear what was still within his control:
“But I can give it a dignified ending: making sure users can withdraw their assets in full and giving my employees a dignified farewell.”
Why He Chose to Shut Down Instead of Selling
Yang said he seriously considered selling the platform, but ultimately decided against it. According to him, the goal was to give the company he founded in 2017 a “clean ending.”
The Wind-Down Timeline
The shutdown will unfold in stages, according to the company’s published schedule:
- New user registrations were suspended as of September 15, 2026.
- Spot trading will continue until September 29.
- Withdrawals will remain available through December 22, 2026.
- Users who still hold CET, CoinEx’s native token, will automatically receive 0.005 USDT per token through the buyback, with no quantity limit. That was the price at which the token was originally listed.
- After December 22, any assets remaining on the platform will be transferred to independent custody, which will charge a 5% monthly fee on the balance. Users will have until August 2028 to claim the funds.
CoinEx also said it maintains an asset reserve ratio above 100%, stating that user balances are fully backed and available for full withdrawal.
Shadows From the Past
CoinEx’s history also includes a regulatory run-in in the United States. In 2023, the exchange exited the American market after reaching a settlement with the New York Attorney General.
The case, as reported by CryptoNews at the time, centered on the platform’s failure to register as a securities and commodities broker. Under the settlement, CoinEx paid $1,172,971.50 in restitution to 4,691 New York investors, plus $626,133.88 in additional monetary relief to the state.
The company was also barred from serving New York residents or opening new U.S. accounts. Notably, the shutdown notice issued on September 14, 2026, makes no mention of that earlier case as a factor in the current closure.
An Exchange That Isn’t Alone in Saying Goodbye
CoinEx joins a growing list of companies and projects across the industry that have shut down or announced plans to shut down in 2026.
BitMEX, founded in 2014, also announced the end of its operations after roughly 11 years, with closure set for September 23.
BitMart, which claimed more than 13 million users, announced a gradual wind-down in July, but later began exploring a possible restructuring and eventual resumption of part of its operations.
The broader landscape includes other shutdowns recorded throughout the year, many of them tied to falling trading volumes, shrinking liquidity, and rising regulatory and compliance costs.
The End of an Era, or the Start of a Natural Selection?
For Yang, what remains is the hope of leaving behind an honest legacy amid the wave of closures.
For the crypto industry as a whole, the question that remains is whether this string of closures represents simply a market reshuffling — or whether it signals deeper changes still to come.