Withdrawal Freeze Exposes Liquidity Woes
Multiple users have reported severe withdrawal issues on AscendEX (formerly Bitmax). Withdrawal requests remain stuck in 'Initiating' status for extended periods, with no corresponding on-chain transaction hashes provided. The market widely suspects the exchange is facing a liquidity crunch. As of now, the platform has not issued an official explanation, causing a sharp decline in user confidence.
Past Security Breach and Trust Deficit
This is not AscendEX's first crisis. In 2021, the platform was breached by the North Korean Lazarus hacking group, resulting in a loss of $78 million. Although the exchange compensated users at the time, it has since failed to provide a comprehensive Proof of Reserves (PoR) or submit to regular independent third-party audits, leaving its operational transparency persistently low. The current withdrawal freeze has amplified these trust issues.
Industry analysts view AscendEX's predicament as symptomatic of broader struggles among mid-sized and smaller exchanges. With global regulators tightening oversight, top-tier exchanges leverage compliance advantages and market share to expand, while smaller players face a triple squeeze: user attrition, liquidity depletion, and heightened security risks. The lack of transparent fund management and routine security audits has become a fatal flaw for such platforms.