BitMart Faces Insolvency Allegation as OpenGradient Says Market-Making Funds Are Stuck

BitMart is facing an insolvency allegation from OpenGradient co-founder and CEO Matthew Wang, who says his market-making team has funds stuck on the crypto exchange as it prepares to end trading later this month.

Wang said in a post on X that the team could not withdraw its balances from BitMart and alleged the exchange was insolvent. He also questioned why BitMart had asked token holders to lock assets on the platform shortly before announcing its shutdown.

The claims have not been independently verified. BitMart has not directly responded to Wang’s allegations.

BitMart Is Already Winding Down

The allegations come after BitMart announced on July 26 that it would begin an orderly cessation of its trading platform. The exchange said spot, futures and other trading services will stop at 1 a.m. UTC on Aug. 26. 

Customers have been asked to submit withdrawal requests before 5 a.m. UTC that day. BitMart said withdrawals would remain available during the wind-down, subject to additional checks.

BitMart also said the platform’s operations are scheduled to terminate on Jan. 31, 2027. The shutdown has already raised concerns among some users and market participants about access to funds. Posts on various social media platforms show users reporting delayed or frozen withdrawals, although those reports are individual accounts and do not establish a broader liquidity shortfall.

Wang Says His Funds Are Stuck

Wang’s allegation adds a market-making operation to those concerns. In an Aug. 10 post, he said his market maker had balances on BitMart that it could not withdraw and attributed the problem to what he called the exchange’s insolvency.

He also alleged that BitMart had encouraged token holders to lock their assets on the exchange about a week before the shutdown was announced. Wang characterized the campaign as an effort to bring liquidity onto the platform.

That characterization has not been independently established.

Reporting on the campaign found that BitMart had promoted a locked-savings arrangement in July offering a six-month lock period and an annual percentage yield of about 15%, subject to limits. The stated purpose was to encourage longer-term holding and reduce short-term selling pressure.

The available reporting does not establish that the campaign was designed to obtain liquidity or that BitMart knew it would be unable to meet withdrawals when it was promoted.

BitMart Denies Misappropriating Assets

BitMart founder Sheldon Xia addressed concerns on Aug. 8, saying the exchange had not fled and would not do so. Xia said the company’s core team was conducting an asset inventory, consolidating assets and maintaining its systems as part of the shutdown process. 

He also denied misappropriating customer assets. BitMart has not acknowledged an asset shortfall or confirmed that customer funds are missing.

Its official shutdown notice says customers can continue submitting withdrawal requests during the wind-down, although requests may be subject to identity verification, source-of-funds reviews, wallet-ownership checks and sanctions screening.

The Solvency Question Remains Unresolved

Wang has not disclosed the value or specific assets held by his market-making team on BitMart. That leaves the insolvency claim unproven.

The distinction matters because an exchange winding down its trading operations is not, by itself, evidence that it cannot meet its obligations. BitMart has described the process as an orderly cessation and says it is working through its assets and withdrawals.

At the same time, reports of delayed withdrawals and Wang’s claim add pressure to the exchange as the Aug. 26 trading deadline approaches. The clearest facts are that BitMart is shutting down its trading platform, customers are being urged to withdraw their assets, and at least one market participant says its funds remain inaccessible. The broader claim that the exchange is insolvent remains an allegation rather than an established fact.