A month ago, crypto exchange BitMart was telling the market it planned to be around for another eight years. This week, it began shutting down. BitMart has started winding down its trading platform, suspending new registrations, deposits and orders ahead of a full trading halt on August 26, in an abrupt reversal that has also cost its global chief executive his job, a departure he says he found out about the same way the public did.
The Shutdown Timeline
In a notice published late Saturday, BitMart said the decision followed an evaluation of its operating conditions, market environment and future strategic direction. All spot, futures and other trading services will stop at 01:00 UTC on August 26, and the exchange plans to cease trading-platform operations entirely at 15:59 UTC on January 31, 2027. After that, users will retain login access for a period to view records and submit withdrawal requests.
Withdrawals remain open for now, but the window comes with conditions. BitMart is urging users to close positions by 01:00 UTC and file withdrawal requests by 05:00 UTC on August 26. Requests made after that recommended window will be moved to a separate processing procedure, and some may face additional identity, source-of-funds, sanctions or security reviews. The exchange has begun placing futures accounts in reduce-only mode and halting new spot orders, while copy trading, grid trading, API trading, and its Earn, staking, lending and Launchpad products are being discontinued in phases.
The CEO Says He Was Blindsided
Global CEO Nenter (Nathan) Chow said on X that the company informed him on July 24 that his employment was being terminated, with his offboarding to begin immediately. Chow said he had played “no role in the management or decision-making of the company” since that date, was not consulted on the wind-down, and learned of it when it became public. He said he had not been given a confirmed final date for his departure and would not comment further.
Chow said his concern was for BitMart’s users and employees, urging customers to rely only on the exchange’s official channels and to act on the closure notice without delay. BitMart had not publicly addressed his statement as of publication. Chow had joined BitMart from Animoca Ventures, where he was a partner, and was appointed global CEO in April 2025 when founder Sheldon Xia moved to group president.
A Sharp Reversal
The wind-down is a stark turn from BitMart’s own messaging just weeks earlier. In a first-half 2026 report, the exchange said assets under management in its asset-management arm had grown roughly 256% period-over-period, while Chow laid out plans to expand BitMart’s prediction markets, tokenized-asset offerings and regulatory footprint. Only a month ago, the company said it had secured an Australian Financial Services Licence and would expand its local compliance, legal and operations teams, describing a user base of more than 13 million across over 180 countries and territories. The closure notice did not explain what had changed since either statement.
The Trust Questions
For users weighing how much to trust the withdrawal window, BitMart’s recent history offers reasons for caution. In a statement dated May 23, the exchange said online claims that users could not withdraw funds stemmed from its risk system intercepting 239 linked accounts it accused of abusively farming platform activity subsidies, and it insisted all operations were running normally. In that same statement, BitMart said it would publish a proof-of-reserves report once security and risk-control considerations were addressed; as of the weekend, no subsequent full report appeared on its website, though it had previously disclosed several hot-wallet addresses. BitMart also suffered a $150 million hot-wallet hack in December 2021.
BMX, BitMart’s exchange token, reflected the market’s verdict on the news, trading near $0.066 on Sunday morning, down close to 60% over 24 hours.
Not the Only One
BitMart’s closure adds to a run of pressure on established exchanges. Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao described the announcement as “tough times (again)” in an X post, adding that the process appeared to be an orderly wind-down.