BitMart CEO denies withdrawal claims as users set Aug 19 deadline

BitMart chief executive Sheldon Lee dismissed withdrawal accusations as fabricated rumors Monday, hours after a campaign set an Aug. 19 deadline for proof of reserves.

A Chinese-language account posting as BitMart 币市 published a five-point accountability demand Monday, asking Lee and business partner Yi Li to disclose wallets, assets, liabilities, and usable reserves that a third party can verify. The account also questions who ordered the withdrawal limits and when management first knew the platform could no longer process requests normally.

Strain showed up on-chain almost immediately. Ethereum withdrawals surged to a 2026 high within days of the notice, while BMX crashed 46 percent as the announcement landed. The July 26 notice stopped deposits and new registrations at once and switched futures accounts to reduce-only mode, which lets traders close positions but not open fresh ones.

Staff pay sits at the center of the complaint. Rank-and-file employees never decided how company funds were managed, the account argues, so they should not absorb the cost of that decision. "Let the fund flows be traced clearly. Let users know where their money is. Let employees get back the pay they deserve," BitMart said on X.

Lee skipped the demands point by point. Instead, he said the company had gathered evidence and would file a police report and send a lawyer's letter to X requesting technical forensics. He added that employee assets carry no priority over client assets. The reply offered no reserve figures, no liability total, and no repayment timeline.

On-chain investigator ZachXBT pushed back within minutes. "If you actually have the liquidity then simply return the funds to everyone instead of posting vague statements?" he wrote.

The official notice sets Aug. 26 as the final trading day and the recommended cutoff for withdrawal requests. Login access runs until Jan. 31, 2027.

BitMart is one of several venues to exit this year. Analysts read closures as a healthy reset, though staff cuts at Luno pointed to wider stress. European regulators, meanwhile, opened a custody review under MiCA after an earlier exchange collapse.

Wednesday's deadline now sets the next test. Verifiable reserve data would answer the question quickly, while another statement without numbers likely will not. For users holding funds on the platform, the outcome determines whether BitMart's wind-down ends in an orderly return of assets or a drawn-out dispute that mirrors prior exchange collapses.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.