Soon after BitMart announced the closure of its exchange, concerns have grown among some users and projects about withdrawal delays.

On July 27, blockchain outlet CryptoSlate reported that BitMart decided to wind down its trading platform after 9 years and stopped new sign-ups, deposits and order intake on July 26.

BitMart will end all trading services on Aug. 26 and plans an official closure on Jan. 31, 2027. Major functions such as spot and futures trading will stop first. The company said it made the decision after reviewing operating conditions, the market environment and its future strategy, but it did not cite any specific financial, regulatory or operational incident.

The issue is that controversy over withdrawal disruptions has grown at the same time as the closure announcement. Some customers and projects say they are unable to withdraw funds. Paxi Network demanded that BitMart immediately return funds belonging to users and market makers, saying the funds are not owned by BitMart. It also urged BitMart to clearly present a schedule for returning unpaid balances.

Signs of unease also emerged on-chain. Wallets linked to BitMart tracked by Nansen saw a significant portion of ETH and stablecoin balances moved externally over the past few days. Critics said that reduced immediately usable liquidity in the Ethereum wallet and shifted reserve composition toward less liquid tokens. The transfers alone do not prove BitMart lacks assets, but they heightened caution as they coincided with the company advising users to speed up withdrawals.

There are still no clear signs that large-scale withdrawals are being processed quickly. Lookonchain tallied about $805,000 withdrawn from 58 wallets over 24 hours after the closure announcement and said there was an 8-hour period with no processing. Onchain Lens also said there were no withdrawals of bitcoin, stablecoins or altcoins exceeding $25,000 over 24 hours. No large withdrawals by individual users, market makers or listed projects were detected over the same period.

BitMart said withdrawal reviews could be prolonged under the closure process. It told users to complete customer verification (KYC) and close positions by 1 a.m. UTC on Aug. 26, 2026, and to submit withdrawal requests by 5 a.m. the same day. It said it may additionally review KYC information, login devices, IP addresses, recipient wallets and blockchain transaction risks for some withdrawals. It also left open the possibility of checking sources of funds, transaction history, sanctions and travel rule compliance, and requesting materials to prove addresses, sources of funds and ownership of recipient wallets.

It also said processing times could be extended due to large withdrawal requests, submission of additional documents, blockchain network congestion and compliance reviews. It added that even after a withdrawal request is made, on-chain transfers do not necessarily occur immediately.

The controversy also links to earlier allegations. In May, BitMart responded to complaints that some users could not withdraw because of account restrictions. At the time, the company said 239 linked accounts were the main targets after its risk control system judged them to be an organised attempt to exploit trading subsidies, and that normal users were not affected. It also said it would release proof of reserves after addressing security and risk control issues, but concerns have resurfaced up to the time of this closure announcement.

Market sensitivity has risen further. BitMEX also recently said it would close its exchange on Sept. 23 after reviewing its strategy. The two closures are not directly linked, but whether users who keep assets on centralised exchanges can withdraw funds at any time has again emerged as a key issue.

This backdrop includes a series of collapses in 2022. Celsius filed for bankruptcy after suspending withdrawals, and Voyager Digital also entered bankruptcy proceedings after freezing customer trading. FTX also halted withdrawal processing just before its collapse, amplifying contagion in the market. Since then, trust in centralised exchanges has been more heavily influenced by proof of reserves and real-time access to assets.

So far, on-chain data alone has not confirmed that BitMart lacks assets. But users and projects are complaining of withdrawal delays, and the company has formalised the possibility of manual reviews. Whether the actual pace of withdrawal processing can calm anxiety surrounding the exchange shutdown remains a key variable.

@BitMartExchange Must Return the Funds Owed to Paxi Network Users and Market Makers Paxi Network is calling on BitMart to immediately release all funds belonging to our users and market makers. These funds do not belong to BitMart. They belong to the people and partners who…