- Withdrawals from BitMart saw an upsurge, with 200 ETH transactions being processed every hour at least.
Sheldon Xia rebutted charges of misappropriation and explained that the team was trying to ensure organized refunds. - The liabilities of BitMart have not been revealed since the issue of customer withdrawals, and salaries are still unresolved.
The BitMart shutdown has entered a new phase as the cryptocurrency exchange increases withdrawal processing after weeks of uncertainty over customer access to funds.
BitMart founder Sheldon Xia has denied allegations that company executives abandoned their responsibilities, misappropriated customer deposits, or moved assets before the exchange announced its shutdown on July 26.
Xia said the core team remains engaged in asset inventory, asset collection, and system maintenance while working toward orderly refunds. He also said the company is considering court involvement and independent third-party auditors to provide a transparent report on its assets.
BitMart Shutdown Prompts Founder Response
The BitMart shutdown followed operational difficulties and the suspension of withdrawals, prompting concerns among users who were unable to access their funds. The resulting speculation included allegations that company executives had withdrawn assets or left the exchange before the announcement.
Xia rejected those claims in a statement posted on X. He said the company had not abandoned its responsibilities and that the core team was continuing work on the exchange’s assets and systems.
Source: BitMart founder Sheldon Xia
Xia also asked users to rely on information released through official channels rather than claims attributed to current or former employees. He said BitMart had not misappropriated assets and had not conducted early withdrawals or an evacuation of funds before the shutdown.
According to Xia, the company has considered involving courts and third-party auditing agencies to produce a transparent report on the exchange’s assets.
BitMart Shutdown Sees Withdrawal Activity Increase
On-chain data recorded by Lookonchain showed that 58 wallets withdrew approximately $805,000 shortly after the July 26 announcement. The data also showed an eight-hour period during which no withdrawals were recorded.
BitMart-linked holdings subsequently declined from approximately $102 million to between $69 million and $71 million. However, internal movements of assets make it difficult to determine how much of that decline represented customer withdrawals.
Withdrawal activity later increased, particularly for Ethereum. ETH withdrawals remained limited during the early part of August before transaction activity increased on August 7. 
Source: Cryptoquant
The reported activity included:
- ETH withdrawals exceeded 200 transactions per hour.
- Several periods approached 400 transactions per hour.
- The latest withdrawal pace averaged approximately 300 transactions per hour.
The increase marked a change from the earlier periods of limited withdrawal activity. Continued processing would reduce the number of pending requests, although the available information does not establish the size of the remaining withdrawal backlog.
BitMart Shutdown Faces Unresolved Liability Questions
The withdrawal statistics do not represent the entire financial situation of BitMart since the exchange has not revealed all its liabilities.
Unpaid salaries of workers have created other liabilities which may come in the way of claims of customers from the exchange’s asset base. The total amount that is payable to workers and other creditors is not known.
Another problem relates to the composition of assets. The disclosed value of BitMart-associated assets does not necessarily mean that all assets may be employed in order to meet pending obligations.
In order to conduct a shutdown of BitMart in a controlled manner, the exchange needs to consider customer withdrawals together with other pending obligations including employee obligations.
What Is Going To Happen Next?
Future events will depend on BitMart’s ability to maintain the higher withdrawal processing speed and disclose further information concerning its assets and liabilities.
These three issues have remained especially pertinent:
- Withdrawal processing: Continuous operation at or above the recent pace would indicate ongoing withdrawal processing from customers’ requests.
- Asset verification: Independent auditing of the company may shed some light into the total number of assets that the company has
- Liabilities: Details about claims made by clients, payroll and other liabilities will give an insight into the company’s financial liabilities.
FAQs
Why is there panic about the BitMart shutdown?
The halt in withdrawals has prompted concerns among the users since they could not withdraw their money.
What did Sheldon Xia say about the allegations?
Xia denied claims that assets were misappropriated or withdrawn before the shutdown and said the core team remained involved in asset reviews and system maintenance.
How have BitMart withdrawals changed?
ETH withdrawal activity increased on August 7, exceeding 200 transactions per hour and reaching periods close to 400 transactions per hour.
