CoinEx Review

Security and licensing

CoinEx was founded in Hong Kong in December 2017 by Haipo Yang, the founder of the ViaBTC mining pool, and is now headquartered in the Seychelles. The exchange holds an operating registration from Estonia's Financial Intelligence Unit (since 2019) and a Virtual Asset Service Provider registration in Poland (since 2024), giving it a modest EU compliance footprint, though neither is a full tier-one financial license.

In 2023, CoinEx settled with the New York Attorney General for $1.8 million and agreed to permanently block US users and exit New York, after previously holding a US money services business registration. The exchange currently excludes a long list of jurisdictions, including the US, UK, EU, Canada, mainland China, and Hong Kong.

Trading fees

CoinEx's default spot trading fee is a flat 0.20% for both makers and takers, which can be reduced to around 0.16% by paying fees in CET (CoinEx's native token), and down to roughly 0.10% at the highest VIP tier. Futures trading is considerably cheaper, starting around 0.03% maker and 0.05% taker, dropping further at high monthly volumes.

Deposits are free aside from standard blockchain network fees. Withdrawal fees vary by asset — for example, roughly 0.0005 BTC for Bitcoin withdrawals — and P2P trading carries no maker or taker fee.

Coins and products

CoinEx has built a reputation around broad altcoin coverage, with some trackers citing over 1,000 listed coins historically, though current active listings are commonly reported in the 500+ range. Core products include spot, margin, and futures trading, an Earn/staking section, and copy trading tools for following other traders' strategies.

The exchange also supports P2P fiat-to-crypto trading in regions where direct bank rails aren't available, which is a common on-ramp for users in markets with limited banking access to exchanges.

Security incident and reserves

In September 2023, CoinEx suffered a hot-wallet breach, with attackers (suspected to be the Lazarus Group) taking funds estimated between $54 million and $70 million across several chains. CoinEx suspended and then resumed deposits/withdrawals after a security review, and committed to reimbursing 100% of user losses without diluting the supply of its CET token — a commitment it followed through on over the following months.

This episode is a material data point for prospective users: CoinEx absorbed a serious loss and made users whole, but the incident itself indicates hot-wallet security gaps that predate its remediation efforts.

Deposits and withdrawals

CoinEx uses tiered withdrawal limits based on verification level: unverified accounts are capped at roughly $10,000 per 24 hours (with some sources citing a $50,000 monthly cap), primary KYC substantially raises the 24-hour limit (commonly cited near $1 million), and enterprise-verified accounts can access limits reportedly up to $5 million per day.

Unverified users can still access spot, margin, futures, and Earn features, but fiat on/off-ramp services require completed KYC.

Support

CoinEx offers 24/7 live chat and ticket-based support. Independent review scores are mixed — some sources cite low Trustpilot ratings (around 2.3/5) driven by complaints about customer service responsiveness and withdrawal issues during peak periods, while other reviewers highlight reliability during high-volatility events and a user-friendly interface. Prospective users should weigh these mixed signals rather than relying on a single source.

Who is it for

CoinEx suits traders who want broad altcoin access and are comfortable with an offshore exchange that has some EU registrations but no tier-one license, and who understand the exchange had a serious 2023 security incident that was fully reimbursed. It's a reasonable secondary exchange for altcoin diversification but not the first choice for traders prioritizing the lowest possible fees or the deepest regulatory protection.