Pressure is mounting on BitMart’s management as users and employees demand answers following the exchange’s decision to wind down its trading platform. A public accountability statement addressed to BitMart co-founder Sheldon Lee and Yi Li alleges that some users remain unable to withdraw their assets and that employees are still awaiting salaries and other compensation. The statement gives management until August 19 to provide evidence of the platform’s assets and liabilities, explain withdrawal restrictions and publish a repayment plan.
The demands come weeks after BitMart announced that it would stop trading on August 26 and fully cease platform operations on January 31, 2027. BitMart says withdrawals remain available and has warned users against paying anyone claiming to offer faster withdrawal processing. The latest statement is not evidence that user funds are missing, and several of its allegations, including claims concerning related accounts and personal assets, remain unverified. Its significance is that affected users are now demanding independently verifiable information rather than relying solely on the exchange’s assurances.
夏爾特、李伊，你們欠全球 BitMart 用戶跟員工一個交代。@sheldonbitmart @BitMartExchange
到現在還是一堆用戶領不回自己的錢，一堆員工連最後一個月的薪水、該拿的補償都沒拿到。
這不是丟一句「停止營運」就可以當作沒事的商業糾紛。
對很多普通用戶來說，鎖在 BitMart… pic.twitter.com/vhiJoyo0mh
— BitMart 币市 (@BitMart_zh) August 17, 2026
High crypto yields can come with a price: your money may be harder to withdraw
High crypto yields may not be worth it if earning more means taking a greater risk of being unable to access your money. The reaction from BitMart users exposes this trade-off, with some commenters pointing to smaller exchanges that attract traders with high rebates, deposit bonuses and interest products offering returns of 10% to 15% or more. Those rates can look appealing, but the extra return often comes with risks around liquidity, the platform itself and how it manages users’ funds.
Some traders appear willing to take that risk because they believe they can collect the rewards and withdraw before anything goes wrong. That strategy can work when everything goes as planned, but it leaves little room for problems. If withdrawals are delayed or restricted, the high yield becomes far less valuable because users may not be able to access the money they deposited in the first place.
A higher rate can be legitimate, but it can also mean the platform is taking on more risk or paying more to attract deposits. Users should therefore look beyond the headline yield and understand what they are giving up to earn the extra return.
BitMart’s closure could become a test of exchange transparency
The collapse of FTX demonstrated how quickly confidence can disappear when customers cannot establish whether assets held on an exchange are actually available to them. CoinMarketCap reported that BMX fell nearly 58% following the shutdown announcement, extending a roughly 70% decline over the previous year, showing how rapidly the market can reprice confidence when an exchange announces that its operating model is coming to an end.
BitMart’s global CEO Nenter Chow said he was told his employment was being terminated and that he learned about the wind-down when it became public. If senior management itself was not operating from a single decision-making process, questions about who controls the wind-down and who is responsible for communicating with customers become harder to dismiss.
A detailed asset reconciliation, explanation of withdrawal procedures and clear treatment of employee claims would address the most important uncertainty. If those questions remain unanswered, the closure will continue to be judged not only by how BitMart stops trading, but by how transparently it accounts for everything left behind.
Meanwhile, BitMart announced the launch of Pre-Market Trading for Bitway (BTW) Points, a new initiative that allows investors to trade early before the official token listing.
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