Summary
- BitMart founder Sheldon Lee dismissed as “fabricated rumors” an X post alleging that customers cannot withdraw funds and some employees have not been paid their July salaries, saying the exchanges Chinese-language account was hacked.
- Users and critics, including onchain investigator ZachXBT, are demanding that BitMart restore withdrawals or submit to independent third-party audits, as the exchange winds down operations ahead of its final trading day on Aug. 26.
- Distressed investment firm Echo Base said it proposed a funded restructuring package for BitMart but received no response, warning that the situation is unlikely to be resolved without a court process to address widespread customer claims.
BitMart founder Sheldon Lee dismissed calls to explain why, according to a post on X, some customers of the exchange are unable to withdraw their funds and some employees were not paid their July salaries.
The post on the exchange's Chinese-language account, which Lee said had been hacked, called on him and business partner Yi Li to open the books, including wallets, assets, liabilities, and usable reserves, to independent verification. It gave Lee until Aug. 19 to respond.
Last month, BitMart said it was winding down operations and Aug. 26 would be the final trading day. Many users are reporting withdrawals remain blocked.
“To this day, a bunch of users still can't withdraw their own money, and a bunch of employees haven't even received their last month's salary or the compensation they're owed. This isn't some business dispute that can just be brushed off with a single 'ceasing operations' statement,” the post said.
“Are you willing to accept independent third-party audits？”
In his response, Lee did not address the demands directly, referring instead to the alleged hacking.