The resignation of BitMart Chief Product Officer Terence Lee has stoked hypothesis on-line that the soon-to-be-shuttered crypto trade may properly be bancrupt.
In a press release, posted on-line, Lee claims that he wasn’t “liable for the trade’s core enterprise,” and that he’s not concerned in BitMart’s “operations, administration, or asset-related issues of the corporate or any of its affiliated entities.”
He additionally careworn that he has “no authority over platform belongings, accounts, or issues regarding person funds” and stated that he wouldn’t touch upon any authorized proceedings, calling his resignation “my sole public clarification on this matter.”
Crypto streamer Travladd stated that Lee’s departure “screams insolvency,” and claimed that he’s resigning “earlier than shit hits the fan.”
BitMart state of affairs has ‘gotten out of hand’
Based on “Cao,” a lawyer who’s beforehand served BitMart demand papers, the “state of affairs has gotten out of hand.”
They stated that “Not being answerable for belongings doesn’t exempt a co-founder from accountability; you don’t get to choose out of accountability by stepping again as soon as issues collapse.”
I don’t often air private work right here, however the @BitMartExchange state of affairs has gotten out of hand, and my purchasers are victims of a chaotic and poorly managed cessation of operations.
We’ve served formal demand letters throughout a number of jurisdictions and tried to succeed in the… https://t.co/f1szeKO97Z
— Cao (@CaoLinSan) August 12, 2026
BitMart’s withdrawal points
Previous to Lee’s departure, Open Gradient CEO Matthew Wang had already accused BitMart of insolvency after his market maker couldn’t retrieve its funds.
He additionally claimed that it was “insane” that BitMart requested token holders to lock up their tokens one week earlier than it introduced that BitMart would stop operations by January 31, 2027.
Wang’s publish was apparently deleted whereas BitMart’s closure announcement on X was “withheld” from UK customers “in response to a authorized demand.”
The announcement promised an “orderly wind-down” and claimed, “withdrawal providers will stay out there.”
BitMart customers scrambled to withdraw their funds as the worth of its token fell 80% between July 24 and July 26.
Nonetheless, there have been important delays, with customers experiencing difficulties weeks later.
Co-founder denies rugpull
Ultimately, BitMart co-founder Sheldon Xia broke a two-week silence to disclaim that the agency was conducting an exit rip-off.
In a press release that included no figures or timeline, Xia stated the crew remains to be tallying and consolidating what it holds.
He additionally floated the possibilty of “involving the courts and impartial third-party auditors to supply a clear report.”
Protos has reached out to BitMart for remark and can replace this piece ought to we hear something again.
