OpenGradient Co-Founder Matthew Wang alleged that his market-making team has funds stuck on BitMart and has been unable to withdraw them as the exchange winds down its trading operations.
Wang also alleged that BitMart was insolvent and questioned why the exchange had encouraged token holders to lock their assets shortly before announcing its shutdown. The claims have not been independently verified, and BitMart has not directly responded to Wang’s allegations.
The dispute comes as BitMart winds down its global trading operations, with customers being urged to withdraw their assets before the exchange’s final trading deadline later this month.
BitMart’s locked savings plan
Messages reviewed in connection with the dispute show BitMart’s platform operations team promoting a locked savings campaign to token holders in July. The proposal offered a six-month lock period with an annual percentage yield of about 15%, subject to individual and overall limits. The stated aim was to encourage longer-term holding and reduce short-term selling pressure.
In an earlier message, BitMart asked the token project whether it could provide a subsidy budget in tokens or stablecoins for the campaign. A later message said no subsidy was required and instead asked the project to support joint marketing and promotion.
Wang later alleged that BitMart was encouraging users to lock their tokens roughly one week before the exchange began winding down related services. He characterized the campaign as an effort to attract additional liquidity.
There is no independent evidence establishing that the savings campaign was designed to obtain liquidity or that BitMart knew it would be unable to meet withdrawals when the campaign was promoted.
Withdrawals under review
BitMart began a phased shutdown on July 26, and stopped new registrations, crypto and fiat deposits, and new spot orders, while futures accounts moved to reduce-only mode.
The announcement triggered a sharp sell-off in BMX, BitMart’s native token, which fell as much as 70% as investors reacted to the loss of its exchange-related utility. As per CoinMarketCap, BitMart Token (BMX) was trading at around $0.05706 as of 08:27 UTC, down 1.9% over the past 24 hours.
The exchange has said withdrawals remain available during the wind-down. It has asked customers to submit withdrawal requests before 05:00 UTC on August 26, while all spot, futures and other trading services are scheduled to end at 01:00 UTC on August 26.
Withdrawals can be subject to additional checks, including identity verification, source-of-funds reviews, wallet-ownership checks and sanctions screening. BitMart plans to terminate its trading-platform operations on January 31, 2027.
However, the shutdown has raised concerns over whether all customers will be able to access their funds smoothly. Market maker Scandic Coin reported delayed withdrawals involving about 21,898 USDT, 926,635 SNC and 256 USDT, submitted on July 26. The project did not accuse BitMart of insolvency, but called for evidence that the exchange has enough liquidity to meet its obligations.
Founder addresses concerns
BitMart Founder Sheldon Xia addressed the growing concerns on August 8, saying the exchange had not fled and would not do so. Xia said BitMart’s core team was conducting an asset inventory, consolidating assets and maintaining its systems as part of an orderly wind-down. He also denied misappropriating customer assets.
The founder said the company was considering the involvement of courts and third-party audit institutions and would provide a transparent report. BitMart has not acknowledged any asset shortfall or confirmed that customer funds are missing.
What is known about BitMart’s solvency
The latest allegations have added to concerns over BitMart’s ability to process withdrawals smoothly during its shutdown. For now, there is no confirmed evidence that BitMart lacks sufficient assets to cover customer funds. Wang has also not disclosed the value or specific assets held by his market-making team on the exchange.
The immediate focus is therefore likely to remain on withdrawals as BitMart approaches its August 26 trading shutdown. Further updates from the exchange and reports from affected users and market participants could help clarify whether the current delays are temporary processing issues or signs of deeper liquidity problems.
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