BitMart founder Sheldon Xia (셸던 샤오) denied allegations that he had disappeared with customer funds.

On Aug. 8, local time, Xia said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that the exchange is conducting an asset inventory, consolidating assets and carrying out system maintenance, and will issue related official notices in sequence, Cryptopolitan reported.

Xia said, "BitMart did not run away" and "will not run away in the future." He also asked users not to believe rumours spread by current and former employees, or claims involving screenshots and leaks.

The explanation did not include key figures and timelines. Xia did not present a reserves report and did not disclose a specific withdrawal schedule or the state of assets. The statement also coincided with a deadline BitMart gave U.S. users to withdraw cryptocurrency, and calls are growing in the market for proof of assets.

BitMart previously announced on July 26 it would orderly shut down the platform. The company cited operating conditions, the market environment and strategic direction. Immediately after the announcement, BitMart's BMX token fell nearly 60 percent in a day on CoinGecko data.

BitMart stopped creating new accounts from July 26, and also blocked deposits and new orders. Spot and futures trading will stop on Aug. 26. Overall operations will end by Jan. 31, 2027, but users will be able for some time after that to log in to check trading records and submit withdrawal requests.

The problem is that user complaints had continued even before the closure announcement. From a few days before the official announcement, many posts appeared on social media saying users could not access tokens on time or were blocked from withdrawing. One account holder claimed that about $80,000 worth of cryptocurrency was tied up on the platform.

Confusion in management added to the situation. Nenter Nathan Chow said he learned only on July 24 that he had been fired as BitMart Global's chief executive officer. He said he was not involved in the decision to end operations and learned of it only after it was made public. Chow, formerly of Animoca Ventures, became CEO in April 2025, while Xia had stepped back as group president. Until a few weeks before the closure announcement, Chow had publicly said, "We will be here for another 8 years."

On the regulatory front, the safeguards users can rely on are limited. BitMart's holding company, GBM Global Holding Company Limited, is registered in the Cayman Islands, and its user terms also use Cayman law as the governing law. But the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority said on Aug. 6 that neither BitMart nor related GBM entities have been registered, licensed, regulated or authorised to operate a cryptocurrency business locally.

BitMart has previously faced security incidents and withdrawal disputes. In December 2021, it lost about $150 million due to a hot wallet hack. On May 23, in a statement responding to earlier withdrawal complaints, it said it was blocking 239 linked accounts that its risk control system judged to be abusing trading subsidies. The full proof-of-reserves report promised at the time has yet to be released.

As a result, the key issue as BitMart winds down is narrowing to whether it will disclose the actual state of assets and the withdrawal process. The founder has stepped in personally, but proof of assets and a timetable will need to follow to ease user anxiety.

1. We did not run away, and we will not run away. 2. Do not readily believe many rumours and so-called revelations from former and current employees, screenshots and the like. 3. The core team is still working on an asset inventory, asset consolidation and system maintenance. An orderly wind-down is our goal. Please wait for announcements and notices...