Insiders broke the news: April ban, May layoffs, BitMart shutdown long predicted
A “wave of bankruptcies” of cryptocurrency exchanges is spreading at an accelerated pace. Following the announcement of the shutdown of AscendEX (formerly BitMax) and BitMEX, on July 26, BitMart made an official announcement announcing the decision to stop operations in an orderly manner after comprehensively evaluating the company's operating status, market environment, and future strategic direction. There was an uproar in the crypto community, but in fact, the downfall of BitMart was by no means a “sudden decision”; some signs have already appeared. Withdrawal abnormalities already occurred in April, and layoffs began in May. At the end of April this year, abnormalities have already begun to occur within BitMart. According to information circulating in Lark's internal group at the time, the platform clearly indicated that user orders were not in line and directly gambled with users — as long as users won money, funds would be locked in. The customer service response was that withdrawals are prohibited for at least three months, and will not be lifted when they expire. At the beginning of May, several BDs reported the issue of user funds being banned in an internal group. As a result, contract leader Gavin directly requested Roham, the head of the mainland region, to close the group. The BDs moved to another group and continued to report, and were also kicked out. In the same period, some employees inquired about the company's asset reserves in the group, and was harshly criticized by founder Sheldon Xia. Sheldon clearly stated that BitMart was unwilling to disclose asset reserve certificates. An anonymous Bitmart employee told Bitpush that the entire department's layoffs began in May. Interviewees said that in May of this year, the company had already begun to “silently” abolish some business divisions — no formal announcements, no separation compensation negotiations, and the entire department was notified “not to be used tomorrow.” These abolished departments mainly focus on business lines where growth is weak or compliance costs are too high, including some overseas operations teams and marketing departments. With this complete shutdown, many people only learned through the official social media that they have lost their job, without the slightest preparation. DI (@Start16Start), a whistleblower who claims to be a “former BitMart employee and current WEEX employee,” wrote on the X platform that BitMart “went from using the unattainable KPIs of CIS employees to reduce our salaries to the chaos within the entire company.” He alleges that the company has long been delinquent on employees' wages and bonuses and refuses to deliver on promises to employees, traders, and KOLs. “This endless act of deception is the reason I chose to leave and keep my key partner as far away from that conflict as possible.” DI wrote. The most absurd thing about this shutdown is that BitMart Global CEO Nenter (Nathan) Chow posted a clarifying statement on X: “On July 24, 2026, I was told that my position as Global CEO will be terminated, and the separation process will begin immediately. I have yet to receive confirmation of my final separation date. Since July 24, I have not participated in any management or decision-making of the company, nor have I been consulted on any operational matters. I was not involved in the decision announced today, was not consulted, and was not informed in advance. I only learned about it when I saw the public announcement. “Chow said he is most concerned about BitMart users and employees, advising users to only handle account matters through official channels and “not comment further on this matter”. Chow joined Bitmart as a partner at Animoca Ventures in April 2025 as Global CEO. At that time, founder Sheldon Xia became Group President. In just over a year, the CEO witnessed the end of the company by being “fired”. Just a month ago, BitMart also reported that its asset management business AUM increased by about 256% month-on-month. At the time, Chow also stated “BitMart is eight years old and we plan to work for another eight years.” Bitmart also previously claimed to have obtained an Australian AFSL license, serving more than 13 million users. It was only one month from “working for another eight years” to “announcing the shutdown”. Founder Sheldon Xia has not made any direct comments on the shutdown as of press time. KOL: Customer service and BD garbage exchanges will go out of business. Crypto KOL @tradermige posted an article on the X platform saying, “The employees at BitMart and BitMEX are all in a shambles. No wonder they have gone out of business. I had a hunch for a long time.” He recounted his experience working with BitMart: BitMart has set up a rebate agency for him, but “all...
