BitMart customers say withdrawal requests are still pending weeks after the exchange announced an “orderly wind-down” on July 26, despite the platform saying at the time that withdrawal services would remain available.
One customer who requested a withdrawal two weeks ago said BitMart still holds millions of dollars belonging to him. In a post that drew more than 150,000 views on Sunday, he wrote, “WHERE IS OUR MONEY?” He added, “$10.1 million on BitMart. Since July 26, I haven’t been able to withdraw single dollar.” The same customer also claimed that his BitMart VIP manager, Tony, deleted his Telegram account on the day withdrawals stalled. He said that “Tens of thousands of people have been waiting for their funds since July 26.”
Similar complaints have appeared from smaller account holders. Another customer said BitMart released only $5 on Saturday from a withdrawal request of roughly $24,000. He wrote, “This is a joke, right?” and described the process as “more like a letdown than a wind-down.”
The complaints go beyond retail users. Crypto project Gen6 said it filed a complaint with Hungarian police over about $80,000 in withdrawal requests that it said had been “refused without explanation since Jul 26.” Paxi Network called on the exchange to release funds belonging to its users and market makers, saying, “These funds do not belong to BitMart.” Scandic Coin said three withdrawal requests submitted on July 26 were still allegedly unprocessed nearly eight days later, including one for $21,898 in USDT.
Limited withdrawals processed after closure notice
According to the report, BitMart processed just 63 withdrawals after announcing the closure.
Sheldon Xia responds after two weeks
On Saturday, BitMart founder Sheldon Xia broke two weeks of silence and denied that the exchange had run off with customer funds. He first posted a four-point statement in Chinese, then shared an English version that said, “We have not disappeared, nor will we.”
Xia denied misappropriating assets or moving funds out early. He said the team is still tallying and consolidating what it holds and raised the possibility of “involving the courts and independent third-party auditors to provide a transparent report.” The statement did not include any figures, any timeline, or any proof of reserves.
The report noted that Xia’s denial came on the final day BitMart had given US customers to remove their crypto from the platform.
Earlier disputes and executive departure
BitMart has previously pushed back against withdrawal-related criticism. In May 2026, it blamed claims that “BitMart cannot withdraw” on risk controls that intercepted “a malicious volume-farming group” operating 239 linked accounts.
Two days before the wind-down announcement, BitMart fired executive Nathan Chow. Chow said, “I was not involved in the decision announced today, not consulted on it, and not informed of it.”
On-chain holdings show a sharp decline
Wallets attributed to BitMart by Arkham Intelligence fell from about $102 million on July 6 to $69 million by July 27. Over the same period, BMX, the exchange’s native token, fell 81% in a week. As of Sunday evening, Arkham’s tracker estimated BitMart held $59.3 million.
Arkham’s data also showed that the exchange’s largest tracked holding was $22.5 million in a little-known token called Ten Best Coins, followed by $13.6 million in another obscure altcoin, WeFi. By contrast, the tracked balances included only about $300,000 in BTC, $235,000 in ETH, and $436,000 in USDC.
DefiLlama, which also tracks asset holdings across entities, currently estimated the exchange held about $2.6 million, well below Arkham’s figure.
Fresh pressure years after the 2021 hack
BitMart previously survived a major crisis in December 2021, when hackers drained as much as $196 million from its crypto wallets. The exchange then suspended withdrawals and said it would compensate users with its own funds.
Nearly five years later, Xia is again asking users for patience and thanking them for their trust. The report added that BMX has lost four-fifths of its value over the last month and is now trading more than 90% below its June 2024 all-time high.