BitMart users and employees have demanded that the crypto exchange disclose its reserves, explain reported withdrawal restrictions, and publish a repayment plan by Aug. 19 as questions continue over customer funds and unpaid staff compensation.
A public statement posted on X and addressed to BitMart founder Sheldon Lee and Yi Li said a large number of users remained unable to withdraw their assets, while some employees had not received their previous month’s salary or compensation owed to them.
The statement called for BitMart to provide verifiable information on its wallets, assets, liabilities and reserves available to meet customer withdrawals. It also asked the exchange to accept independent third-party scrutiny of the figures instead of relying on company statements about its financial position.
In a translated version of the statement, the group called on BitMart to “disclose the wallets,” “disclose the assets,” “disclose the liabilities” and “disclose the actual usable reserves.”
The demands come weeks after BitMart announced plans to wind down its trading platform after nine years of operation. On July 26, the exchange said it would stop new registrations, deposits and new trading activity while allowing customers to withdraw funds during the shutdown process.
BitMart said at the time that all trading services would end on Aug. 26 before the company ceased operations on Jan. 31, 2027. The exchange attributed the decision to its operating conditions, market environment, and future strategy without identifying a specific financial or operational event behind the closure.
Alongside the request for reserve information, the open letter asked BitMart to explain why users were reportedly still unable to complete withdrawals normally and when management first became aware of the problems.
The statement asked who decided to restrict withdrawals, when the decision was made, and whether BitMart continued encouraging customers to deposit, trade or leave assets on the platform after management became aware of withdrawal or funding issues.
BitMart had addressed separate withdrawal complaints before announcing its shutdown. In a statement published in June, the exchange said reports of users being unable to withdraw or facing account restrictions were mainly connected to risk controls targeting what it described as an organized scheme designed to exploit platform activity subsidies.
Following the July shutdown announcement, BitMart said withdrawals would remain available but could be subject to additional checks involving identity verification, devices, IP addresses, withdrawal destinations, sources of funds and sanctions screening. The exchange also warned that a large number of requests could increase processing times.
The current open letter disputed whether the shutdown notice alone addressed the problems reported by users and employees, arguing that customers needed an accounting of the assets available to meet their balances.
Such disclosures would require information beyond a list of wallet holdings to establish a complete picture of an exchange’s finances. Aproof-of-reserves report can verify crypto held in identified wallets against customer balances at a particular time, but it does not necessarily reveal off-chain liabilities, borrowed assets or other obligations.
Recent exchange disclosures show how those figures can be presented. In July, crypto.news reported that Binance reserve data showed customer Bitcoin holdings increasing by 7,715 BTC during June, with the report based on a July 1 snapshot. The same report noted that reserve snapshots do not constitute complete financial audits.
The BitMart statement also sought an investigation into accounts, affiliated companies, trusts and other arrangements that may have handled funds connected to users.
Yi Li was specifically asked to explain the source and ownership of funds held in accounts allegedly associated with her. The open letter said materials awaiting further verification indicated that accounts linked to Li may have held assets worth tens of millions of dollars and showed records of withdrawals conducted in batches.
The statement did not present the unverified information as proof of wrongdoing and explicitly said no criminal characterization should be applied to any individual before the evidence was established.
Instead, the authors asked Li to confirm whether the accounts existed and, if so, identify who owned the assets, where the funds originated, why they entered the accounts, where withdrawals were sent and whether any of the money had a connection to BitMart customer assets.
“If these records are fake, please publicly clarify,” the statement said.
The open letter also referred to social media posts showing luxury purchases associated with Li but acknowledged that such spending was not evidence of a crime. Its authors argued that questions about the source of funds should be answered because of the allegations surrounding BitMart’s finances.
Any funds potentially connected with customer assets should be traced across accounts, companies and ownership structures, according to the statement, which called for an independent investigation into the relevant transactions.
Employee payments form a separate part of the demands, with the statement claiming that some BitMart staff had not received their previous month’s salaries or compensation owed following the exchange’s decision to wind down.
The authors argued that ordinary employees were not responsible for decisions about company finances or the shutdown and should not bear losses resulting from management decisions.
“Work done deserves pay. Compensation owed must be paid,” the statement said.
BitMart’s closure came after the exchange had maintained a sizeable presence in crypto trading. Previous coverage in December 2025 found that BitMart showed higher order-book depth across observed Bitcoin and Ethereum perpetual markets than several competing centralized exchanges during the measured period.
The exchange also suffered a major security breach years before its current wind-down. In December 2021, hackers compromised BitMart hot wallets and removed roughly $196 million in crypto assets, after which the exchange said affected customers would be compensated.
The open letter set Aug. 19 as the deadline for BitMart to provide both a verifiable asset disclosure and a detailed repayment plan for users.
Under the requested plan, BitMart would disclose the value of remaining assets and total liabilities, estimate how much customers could recover and explain the order in which repayments would be processed.
Users also requested dates for the beginning and completion of repayments, details of the party responsible for overseeing the process and confirmation of whether BitMart would submit to an independent third-party audit.
Reserve disclosures have become common among major centralized exchanges, although the scope of reporting differs between platforms. June reserve reports from Bybit and OKX showed higher customer Bitcoin balances at both exchanges, while their reported USDT holdings declined. The snapshots provided wallet and customer-balance information but did not establish the companies’ complete financial positions.
For BitMart, the open letter sought a disclosure specifically tied to its ability to meet outstanding customer claims during the wind-down, including the amount of usable reserves and liabilities remaining on the platform.
If BitMart does not provide a complete and verifiable response by Aug. 19, the authors said they would consider submitting available materials, transaction leads and other evidence to law enforcement agencies, regulators, lawyers and media organizations in multiple jurisdictions.
The statement also called on crypto companies, industry figures, researchers and media organizations to follow the dispute and support independent examination of the fund flows. Its authors said they were not asking third parties to accept the allegations in advance and instead wanted the underlying evidence made public.
“If BitMart’s core management thinks there’s any misunderstanding in the above questions, they can absolutely address them one by one with public, verifiable evidence,” the statement said.
