CoinEx is shutting down after nearly nine years, citing declining trading volume and liquidity across the crypto market, rising regulatory requirements, and high compliance costs. The wind-down begins September 15, 2026, with withdrawals available until December 22, 2026. The exchange follows BitMart and BitMEX in closing this year. CoinEx previously faced scrutiny from TRM Labs over alleged transactions with sanctioned Iranian entities, including billions in volume and funds linked to Iran’s central bank. It also suffered a $70 million hack in 2024 and paid $1.7 million in a 2023 New York settlement.
CoinEx is preparing to shut down its platform after nearly nine years as weakness across the crypto market has made operations increasingly difficult. The exchange said the broader industry has seen a significant contraction in trading volume and liquidity, citing rising regulatory requirements across major jurisdictions alongside higher compliance costs and operational uncertainties.
The wind-down process begins on September 15, 2026, and will follow a gradual schedule. Users can still withdraw funds from the platform until December 22, 2026.
CoinEx’s decision highlights the pressure facing established exchanges as the crypto industry moves through further maturity and consolidation. BitMart and BitMEX also announced closures in July after operating since 2017 and 2014, respectively.
Pressure spread across more corners of the industry this year. DEX aggregator Odos wound down operations on July 30, while Dango stopped running its L1 blockchain on August 13. Storj Labs filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Long before announcing its shutdown, CoinEx faced its share of problems. Earlier this year, TRM Labs found over $3.84 billion in blockchain transactions between the exchange and sanctioned Iranian entities over more than seven years. TRM said CoinEx was the largest external counterparty of Nobitex.
More than $2.7 billion reportedly moved between the two platforms since late 2018, with the report linking CoinEx to over 60 Iranian crypto businesses. TRM further identified around $67 million from Iran’s central bank that reached CoinEx through a complex laundering structure between June 2025 and June 2026.
Founder Haipo Yang acknowledged that Iranian customers widely used the exchange but denied any relationship with the country’s government. CoinEx rejected claims that it knowingly helped sanctions evasion.
While pushing back on the report’s findings, the exchange said Iran blacklisted it in 2021 and that it had never maintained an office there. It even questioned TRM’s volume calculations.
In 2024, the exchange suffered a $70 million hack after its hot wallet keys were compromised, with the Lazarus Group later reported as responsible. In 2023, it agreed to pay more than $1.7 million after a New York lawsuit.
