Why Is BitMart’s Own Account Challenging Its Founder? A public dispute over BitMart’s remaining customer funds has escalated after the crypto exchange’s official Chinese-language X account de
Why Is BitMart’s Own Account Challenging Its Founder?
A public dispute over BitMart’s remaining customer funds has escalated after the crypto exchange’s official Chinese-language X account demanded that founder Sheldon Xia disclose company assets and provide a repayment plan less than two weeks before trading is scheduled to end. In a Monday post, the account called on Xia to disclose
BitMart’s wallets, assets, liabilities and available reserves. It also alleged that some customers remained unable to withdraw assets and that some former employees had not received final salaries or compensation. The account set a Wednesday deadline for a verifiable asset disclosure and repayment plan and said evidence would continue to be submitted to regulators, law enforcement agencies, lawyers and media organizations if those demands were not met. It remains unclear who controls the Chinese-language account or whether the posts were authorized by BitMart. Xia responded Monday by calling the allegations fabricated rumors. He said evidence relating to the posts had been preserved and that he planned to file a police report and seek technical and account information from X through legal channels. That dispute creates an unusual problem during the shutdown.
BitMart has told customers to rely on official communications, yet its founder is now rejecting allegations published through an account carrying the company’s name.
What Is Happening With BitMart Withdrawals?
BitMart announced on July 26 that it would begin winding down its exchange after reviewing operating conditions, the market environment and its future strategy. The exchange stopped new registrations and deposits and began restricting new futures positions, spot orders and automated trading services. All spot, futures and other trading services are scheduled to end on Aug. 26, while the trading platform is expected to cease operations entirely on Jan. 31, 2027. Withdrawals have remained available, although BitMart has warned that some requests may require manual review. Those checks can include identity verification, login-device and IP analysis, withdrawal-address reviews, source-of-funds checks, sanctions screening and requests for additional documents. Xia previously addressed customer concerns on Aug. 8, denying that BitMart had disappeared with user funds or misappropriated assets. He said the company was conducting an asset inventory, consolidating funds and performing system maintenance as part of the wind-down. The latest dispute makes those reassurances harder to assess because customers now face conflicting claims over both the status of funds and who is authorized to speak for the company.
Investor Takeaway
The main risk is not simply that BitMart’s visible wallet balances are falling. Customers still lack a public comparison between remaining assets and total liabilities, making it impossible to determine from blockchain balances alone whether all withdrawal obligations are fully covered.
Do Falling Wallet Balances Show A Funding Shortfall?
Wallets attributed to BitMart by blockchain analytics platform Arkham held roughly $36.5 million in crypto assets on Monday, compared with about $71 million when the wind-down was announced on July 26 and approximately $102 million on July 6. The decline does not establish that funds have been lost or misappropriated. During an exchange shutdown, visible balances can fall because customers are successfully withdrawing assets, funds are being moved between custody addresses or balances are transferred into wallets that analytics services have not tagged. Public blockchain labels may also capture only part of an exchange’s holdings. Without corresponding liability data, the wallet figures provide only one side of
BitMart’s financial position. That distinction matters more during a wind-down. A falling wallet balance could be evidence that withdrawals are being processed normally. It becomes concerning only if the remaining assets are insufficient to cover what the exchange still owes customers. The Chinese-language account’s demand for an asset and liability disclosure therefore goes beyond simply asking BitMart to identify its wallets. A full reserve picture would need to show both available assets and outstanding customer claims.
Can BitMart Restore Confidence Before Trading Ends?
Regulatory questions have added to the uncertainty. On Aug. 6, the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority said BitMart and several associated GBM entities had never been registered, licensed or authorized to provide virtual asset services in or from the Cayman Islands. For customers, however, the more immediate issue is the approaching Aug. 26 trading cutoff and whether delayed withdrawals will be completed before the platform moves deeper into its shutdown process. The strongest response available to BitMart would be a clear asset and liability disclosure, confirmation of which communications accounts remain under company control and a timetable for resolving outstanding withdrawal reviews. The exchange does not need to disclose private keys or sensitive custody information to provide that reassurance. It does need to give customers enough verifiable information to determine whether remaining obligations are covered. BitMart still has months before its planned Jan. 31 closure, giving it time to complete an orderly wind-down. What is becoming more urgent is restoring trust before the Aug. 26 trading deadline. A shutdown can withstand declining wallet balances if they reflect successful withdrawals and can withstand compliance reviews if customers understand why transactions are delayed. What becomes much harder to manage is uncertainty over who is speaking for the exchange and whether outsiders can verify that enough assets remain to repay everyone still waiting.
