Popular Hong Kong-based exchange CoinEx has announced plans to cease operations and begin an orderly wind-down, with the exchange still holding a substantial amount of Shiba Inu in its reserves.
According to data from Arkham Intelligence, CoinEx held 442,792,693,142 (442.793 billion) Shiba Inu in the hours leading up to press time. At SHIB’s current price of around $0.0000052, the holdings are worth $2.29 million, making Shiba Inu the 10th-largest asset in CoinEx’s portfolio.
The size of CoinEx’s remaining SHIB holdings is notable given the exchange’s long history with the token. CoinEx was among the early centralized exchanges to list SHIB and its ecosystem token BONE, adding support for the token in May 2021 as Shiba Inu expanded rapidly across cryptocurrency trading platforms.
CoinEx’s SHIB Holdings Have Declines
However, CoinEx’s SHIB holdings have fallen considerably since then. In December 2022, the exchange held approximately 1.69 trillion SHIB in its reserves.
Therefore, its current balance of 442.793 billion SHIB represents a 73% reduction from those levels. Despite the decline, CoinEx has continued to maintain meaningful exposure to Shiba Inu and has promoted the token through various campaigns over the years, including highlighting SHIB among the strongest weekly performers.
Besides Shiba Inu, CoinEx also holds major assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, USDT, and Solana.
CoinEx Sets December 22 Closure Date
The development comes as CoinEx prepares to permanently shut down its exchange operations. In an announcement today, the exchange cited the prolonged cryptocurrency market downturn, declining trading volumes and liquidity, rising regulatory requirements, increasing compliance costs, and operational uncertainties as factors behind the decision.
CoinEx also assured users that their assets remain fully backed, stating that its reserve ratio exceeds 100%. Under the announced schedule, CoinEx will stop new registrations and several trading services on September 15.
Non-spot services will end on September 22, while spot trading will cease on September 29. However, the exchange will keep withdrawals available until December 22, 2026, when it will officially cease operations.
CEO Comments
In a separate statement, CoinEx CEO and founder Haipo Yang disclosed that the exchange will buy back CET at its initial listing price of $0.005 per token with no quantity limit, giving holders a clear exit as the exchange winds down.
The founder also revealed that he considered selling CoinEx but ultimately rejected the idea, arguing that users had entrusted their assets to the platform based on their trust in him. Instead, he chose what he described as a clean and responsible closure that allows users to withdraw their funds, employees to receive a dignified farewell, and CET holders to receive a final resolution.