BitMart founder was asked to explain the funding, but Xia denied the accusation saying it was a fabr

BitMart's official Chinese account issues an ultimatum to founder

BitMart's official Chinese X account (BitMart_zh) issued an ultimatum to exchange founder Sheldon Xia, asking him to explain the client's capital status and submit a repayment plan by Wednesday. The post pointed out that some users are still unable to withdraw funds, and some employees have not received final salary or compensation, and urged Xia to disclose BitMart's wallet address, assets, liabilities and available reserves.

At the same time, the exchange has entered a shutdown phase. BitMart announced on July 26 that transactions will end on August 26, operations will end on January 31, new deposits and registrations have stopped, and withdrawals may be subject to additional compliance and security reviews.

Core Points

BitMart's official "BitMart_zh" X account requires founder Sheldon Xia to release verifiable asset disclosure and repayment plans by Wednesday, and threatens to escalate reporting to regulators and law enforcement agencies. The post stated that some users are still unable to withdraw cash and employee salaries have not been settled, and required full disclosure of BitMart's wallet and reserves.

Xia refuted the allegations in another post, calling them "fabricated rumors" and said she had retained evidence for use in police and legal proceedings. Arkham's online report attributed to BitMart wallet shows that the number of crypto asset holdings tracked has dropped significantly since late July, but the data may not cover all assets and cannot prove the reason for the decline in balances.

Disclosure Deadlines for Funding Transparency

In a post posted on Monday, BitMart's Chinese X account stated that some users were still unable to withdraw cash. It also pointed out that some employees had not received final salary or compensation, asked Xia to provide a repayment plan and disclose BitMart's wallet address, positions, liabilities and available reserves. According to machine translation cited in the report, the account warned that if Xia failed to provide verifiable disclosure and repayment plans by the deadline, it would continue to submit evidence to regulators, law enforcement agencies, lawyers and the media.

It is unclear who the author of the post is and whether the account is still controlled by the company. It is reported that relevant media have contacted BitMart for comment, but there was no immediate response.

Founder's response: "Fabricated rumors" and legal escalation

Sheldon Xia responded on Platform X on Monday, refuting the allegations as "fabricated rumors." In a response, also described through machine translation, Xia said her team had collected "complete evidence" and would retain it for subsequent legal proceedings. Xia said it would report the case to the police during daytime hours in the United States and send a lawyer's letter to Platform X requesting technical and data forensics. He also argued that employees would not take precedence over customers in asset disposal, emphasizing that "everyone is a customer" and there were no special treatment.

Previously, Xia has denied that BitMart embezzled user assets. In an August 8 message, he asked users not to rely on unconfirmed claims or screenshots allegedly shared by current or former employees.

Closure timeline provides background for withdrawal disputes

The context of BitMart's request for transparency is the transformation of its overall operations. According to previous reports, the exchange announced on July 26 that it would shut down the platform after BMX tokens fell sharply and users reported delays in withdrawal. BitMart said exchange trading will end on August 26 and operations will cease on January 31. As part of the shutdown, exchanges stopped accepting new deposits and registrations and warned that some withdrawals could face additional compliance and security reviews-which is often critical in shutdown scenarios because custody controls, account reconciliations and eligibility reviews can affect withdrawal timing.

The current focus of controversy on the X platform is whether these delays are caused by normal shutdown procedures or due to the inability to obtain or account for funds. The account's Wednesday deadline suggests it believes the lack of transparency has reached the point where it must be upgraded urgently.

On-chain snapshots: Arkham tracks declines in BitMart's associated wallet assets

In addition to public debate, on-chain analysis provides a partial view of the assets attributed to BitMart. According to the Arkham Wallet physical page cited in the report, as of Monday, the wallet labeled BitMart held approximately $36.5 million in crypto assets. Arkham's data also showed that the balance fell from about $71 million on July 26 and about $102 million on July 6. Although these numbers indicate a significant decrease over time, the wallets tracked may not represent all assets controlled by BitMart, and the reason for the change is unclear-whether it is customer withdrawals, internal integration, transfer to other wallets, or other operations.

For investors and users, this distinction is crucial. In shutdown cases, tracking a decrease in balance does not automatically prove full repayment or misappropriation of funds, but raises questions about whether assets flow to withdrawable withdrawal channels, other custody locations, or into more opaque structures that may make verification more difficult.

Follow-up Focus

The current focus is on whether Xia will meet BitMart_zh's Wednesday deadline to release verifiable asset disclosure and repayment plans, and whether the response can be independently verified. In addition, users should pay attention to clearer withdrawal communications related to the exchange shutdown plan, as well as any regulatory or enforcement actions that may arise due to the escalation of threats.