BitMart founders face Aug. 19 deadline as reserves drop to $36.5M

BitMart founders Sheldon Xia and Terence Li face an Aug. 19 deadline to disclose wallets, assets, liabilities and a repayment plan, after a post on its Chinese-language X account demanded accountability.

"We have collected full evidence of the content on X, all of which is fabricated rumors," Xia said in a Monday post, adding that the company would file a police report and send a lawyer's letter to X demanding technical and data forensics.

Wallets attributed to BitMart by Arkham held about $36.5 million in crypto assets as of Monday, down from roughly $71 million on July 26 and $102 million on July 6. BMX crashed 46% when the wind-down was announced. Ethereum withdrawals surged to a 2026 high within days of the notice.

The deadline sets the next test. Verifiable reserve data would answer the question quickly, while another statement without numbers likely will not. If disclosures reveal significant shortfalls, it could trigger further user withdrawals and regulatory scrutiny.

The post, published on BitMart_zh, gave Xia and Li until Wednesday to provide a verifiable asset disclosure and repayment plan. It demanded the founders explain the whereabouts of user funds, disclose wallets, assets, liabilities and available reserves, and answer who ordered withdrawal limits and when management first knew the platform could not process requests normally.

The account also demanded that employee salary compensation be settled and that a repayment plan with a clear timeline be published, including the scale of remaining assets, total liabilities, recoverable ratios, order, completion time and supervision mechanisms, subject to independent audit.

Xia said employees were not being prioritized over customers, adding that "everyone is a client." He previously denied that BitMart had misappropriated user assets. On Aug. 8, he told users not to believe unverified claims or screenshots purportedly provided by current or former employees.

On-chain investigator ZachXBT pushed back on Xia's response. "If you actually have the liquidity then simply return the funds to everyone instead of posting vague statements?" he said.

BitMart announced on July 26 it would wind down its exchange. Trading ends Aug. 26, operations cease Jan. 31, 2027, and login access runs until that date. The exchange has stopped accepting new deposits and registrations.

The tracked wallets may not represent all assets controlled by BitMart, and it is unclear how much of the decline reflects customer withdrawals, asset consolidation or transfers to other wallets.

The standoff echoes the collapse of FTX, where reserve doubts and unpaid wages preceded the exchange's failure. For BitMart, the Aug. 19 deadline now determines whether the wind-down proceeds in an orderly fashion or descends into a contested insolvency. If the founders fail to produce verifiable numbers, users may accelerate withdrawals and regulators may step in, further pressuring the exchange's remaining assets.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.