CoinEx Closes in 9 Years With $422.7M Balance and No Audit Rows

CoinEx is exiting the market after nine years of operation. The platform will halt spot trading on Sept. 29 and close withdrawals at 2:00 UTC on Dec. 22, per a wind-down notice published on its site that sets both dates.

The company attributed the decision to a prolonged downturn, declining volume, and increasing compliance expenses. In an announcement, CoinEx stated it initiated the staged exit on Sept. 15. New sign-ups have ceased, futures trading is in reduce-only mode, and most non-spot services terminate on Sept. 22.

Founder Haipo Yang provided the direct reasoning. “Carrying unlimited risk for limited revenue is no longer a rational choice,” he wrote on X. He noted he evaluated selling the business but chose not to proceed.

The exit process includes specific liquidation rules. CoinEx will buy back its CET token at 0.005 USDT until Sept. 29; after that date, any remaining CET in customer accounts converts automatically. Users must withdraw non-USDT tokens before Sept. 29 to receive them in their original form. Post-deadline, assets with external market liquidity see batch sales and USDT conversion, while assets lacking external liquidity will remain without custody or redemption support from the exchange.

Arkham, an onchain analytics firm, tags 3.2 million addresses to CoinEx with a total balance of $422.7 million. The largest labeled holdings comprise roughly $144.7 million in bitcoin and $100.8 million in Spark Savings USDT. CoinEx asserts its reserve ratio exceeds 100% and that all user assets are fully backed. However, its public proof-of-reserves page showed no date following “Latest Audit” and contained no rows in the reserve table at the time of review, a state that prevents a direct match between the labeled asset totals and the company’s stated liability.

From Dec. 22 onward, unwithdrawn USDT will transfer to independent custody and incur a monthly fee of 5% of the balance that existed when withdrawals closed. Customers may file custody claims until Aug. 22, 2028. The notice confirms CoinEx Wallet and CoinEx Vault will continue as separate products. It makes no mention of ViaBTC, the mining pool Yang also operates, which was still running during the review period.