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BitMart is shutting down. The exchange announced it will cease operations by January 31, 2027, and the early numbers are not reassuring for users still holding funds there.
In the first 24 hours after the closure announcement, BitMart processed only 63 withdrawal requests — totaling $800,000. That’s a pretty thin number for an exchange that, according to its own API data, logged $1.8 billion in transaction volume within the same window. CoinGecko ranked it third by volume that day. So the gap between what’s moving on the platform and what users can actually pull out is… stark. Crypto researcher Quang flagged the sluggish processing publicly, and specifically warned users holding less than $10 that they probably won’t recover their balances at all. That’s a brutal detail that got buried under the bigger headlines.
Analyst Lookonchain added that BitMart halted withdrawals entirely for eight hours, as of 7:40 pm EST.
Deadlines Users Need to Know
Deposits are already frozen. New account registrations are blocked. All trading services stop on August 21 — but withdrawals stay open a bit longer, until August 26. BitMart urged users to get their requests in before that date, citing potential delays from high demand. Whether the platform can actually handle that volume is unclear, given what the first 24 hours looked like. Eight hours of halted withdrawals and 63 processed requests don’t inspire confidence heading into what could be a flood of last-minute claims.
No details yet on what happens to funds not withdrawn by the deadline.
The CEO Didn’t Know Either
Here’s where it gets genuinely strange. Nathan Chow, BitMart’s Global CEO, had been publicly optimistic about the company’s future just recently. Earlier this year he said, “BitMart is eight years old this year. We intend to be here for the next eight.” That’s not a man preparing an exit. And it turns out, he wasn’t. Chow revealed he was terminated as CEO on July 24 — and wasn’t informed about the closure decision at all. The announcement came after he was already out the door.
That’s a serious disconnect. The person running the company didn’t know the company was closing. It raises real questions about who made the call, when, and why the broader leadership team — and the user base — were kept in the dark until the last moment.
BitMart had also been reporting strong numbers. The company put out an H1 report earlier this month showing a 300% increase in transaction volume and a 256% period-over-period rise in assets under management. It had secured an operational license in Australia. It had formed a partnership with Zero Hash to grow its European footprint. The story, right up until the announcement, was expansion.
And then it wasn’t.
A Bad Month for Crypto Firms
BitMart’s situation doesn’t exist in a vacuum. The broader crypto sector has taken a beating this month. Storj filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. So did Movement Labs. BitMex disclosed its own shutdown. HTX faced EU sanctions. It’s been a rough stretch, and BitMart’s closure adds to a pattern that’s hard to ignore — firms that seemed to be operating normally suddenly announcing they can’t continue.
What’s different about BitMart is the volume paradox. Most exchanges in distress see trading dry up before the announcement. BitMart was apparently still ranking third on CoinGecko by volume the day users found out it was closing. That doesn’t mean the money is accessible — the withdrawal numbers make that clear enough — but it does make the situation harder to read from the outside.
Users are basically navigating blind right now. The exchange hasn’t commented publicly on the withdrawal slowdowns, the eight-hour halt, or the gap between API-reported volume and actual fund access. Chow’s public statements suggest he can’t speak for the company anymore. Whoever is running things hasn’t said much.
Quang’s warning about sub-$10 balances is probably the most actionable piece of information out there right now. If you’ve got a small balance on BitMart, the math on recovery doesn’t look good. For larger holders, the August 26 deadline is the number to watch — and submitting requests sooner rather than later seems like the only real play, given how the first day went.
BitMart processed 63 withdrawal requests in 24 hours against $1.8 billion in reported volume.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many withdrawals did BitMart process after announcing its closure?
BitMart processed only 63 withdrawal requests, totaling $800,000, in the first 24 hours after its closure announcement.
What happened to BitMart CEO Nathan Chow?
Nathan Chow was terminated as Global CEO on July 24 and said he was not informed about the closure decision before it was announced.
