BitMart founder Sheldon Lee has dismissed mounting calls for an independent audit of the exchange's books, even as customers report frozen withdrawals and current and former staff say July salaries went unpaid. The dispute has escalated in the three weeks since BitMart announced it would wind down operations, with an anonymous X account setting an August 19 deadline for the exchange to open its wallets, assets and liabilities to outside verification.
Lee has called the allegations “fabricated rumors” and claimed the Chinese-language X account making the claims was hacked, saying he plans to “file a police report and send a lawyer's letter to X, demanding technical and data forensics.” On the question of unpaid staff, he insisted that employee compensation is “not prioritized over client assets, everyone is a client, and there are no privileges.”
BitMart's troubles trace back to a July 26 notice announcing the orderly cessation of its operations after nine years in business, with all trading set to stop on August 26, 2026 and the platform going fully dark by the following January. The exchange's native BMX token has since collapsed by more than half, and on-chain trackers recorded only a trickle of withdrawals in the first day after the announcement, fueling suspicion that far more customer funds remain stuck than the company has disclosed.
Users Demand to See the Books
One user posting under the handle "BeardStaff" has become a rallying point for frustrated customers, publicly asking "Where is my $10 million?" alongside claims that withdrawals have stalled since the shutdown notice went out. The anonymous X account pressing for the August 19 audit deadline has framed its demand plainly, asking BitMart: "Are you willing to accept independent third-party audits?" The post warned that if no verifiable response arrives, it will submit evidence to law enforcement, regulators and media outlets worldwide.
On-chain investigator ZachXBT has added his own pressure campaign, challenging Lee directly to "simply return the funds to everyone" rather than contest the allegations. Separately, Echo Base's chief executive says his firm offered BitMart a funded restructuring package that included debtor-in-possession financing, but received no response from the exchange.
Part of a Wider Exchange Shakeout
BitMart's collapse is not an isolated event. It is the third centralized exchange to announce closure within a matter of weeks, following AscendEX and BitMEX, both of which cited unfavorable market conditions in shutting down. The pattern has revived memories of 2022's cascade of exchange failures, when frozen withdrawals were often the first visible sign of deeper balance-sheet problems. For an exchange that spent years building retail trust, how BitMart handles the next few days of audit demands may determine whether that comparison holds.
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