On August 8, Sheldon Xia, the founder of BitMart, addressed customer concerns for the first time since the announcement of the exchange's impending closure. He asserted that he is not hiding and has not misappropriated users' funds, as clients have reported difficulties withdrawing their money since July 26.

1. We have not run away, nor will we run away.
2. Many rumors and allegations from supposed former and current employees, including screenshots, should not be believed.
3. The core team is still conducting an asset inventory, consolidating assets, and maintaining the system. Our goal is an orderly withdrawal; please await announcements and notifications. …

— Sheldon (@sheldonbitmart) August 8, 2026

According to Xia, the main team is currently engaged in auditing and consolidating assets, as well as ensuring system maintenance. He urged users to be cautious of unverified information, including screenshots shared by past and present employees.

"We have not misappropriated any assets nor taken steps to withdraw funds ahead of others or evade obligations. We are considering involving courts and independent auditors to provide a transparent report," the exchange's founder stated.

This comment followed a two-week silence from the management. The platform announced a phased shutdown on July 26, indicating that trading would cease on August 26, and the platform would fully close by January 31, 2027. While withdrawals remain technically available, they are reportedly delayed.

Customer Complaints

Analysts from Lookonchain noted the day after the closure announcement that within 24 hours, 58 wallets withdrew a total of approximately $805,000 from BitMart.

BitMart (@BitMartExchange) has announced it is shutting down, while withdrawals will remain available.
Over the past 24 hours, only 58 wallets withdrew funds, with total withdrawals of ~$805K.
And #BitMart has not processed any withdrawals in the past 8 hours. pic.twitter.com/GByU0K7WSe

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) July 27, 2026

A user known as King David responded to Xia's post, stating that from about $24,000 in his account, the exchange had processed only $5 — the remainder of a $10 test transaction submitted on August 3. He highlighted that his withdrawal request for approximately $4,000 in Ethereum from August 1 remains unfulfilled. Other users reported similar issues.

Source: X. Source: X. Source: X. Source: X.

On Trustpilot, a client with a monthly trading volume of $10-20 million reported having $280,000 blocked. Another user mentioned an unfulfilled withdrawal request for 131,103 USDT made on July 22. Some users also experienced difficulties receiving confirmation codes when logging into their accounts.

The Hungarian company Gen6 has filed a police report regarding funds blocked on the exchange. According to the firm, about $80,000 has been trapped on BitMart since July 26 without explanation.

We've filed a criminal complaint (feljelentés) with the Hungarian police - @police_HU - over funds locked on BitMart.
Gen6 has ~80,000 USD frozen on @BitMartExchange: withdrawals refused without explanation since Jul 26. We're far from alone; thousands of users are locked out of… pic.twitter.com/p9cfc0NSqc

— Gen6 (@LifeInGen6) August 8, 2026

On August 8, analyst Maartunn noted a surge in activity, with the exchange processing around 7,200 Ethereum transactions in one day, averaging 300 per hour.

— Maartunn (@JA_Maartun) August 8, 2026

It is worth mentioning that in July, BitMEX announced its closure, with operations set to cease completely by September 23. Earlier this year, BitMEX was fined $100 million for violating the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act.