BitMart to End Trading Operations as Exchange Begins Gradual Shutdown
BitMart has announced that it is shutting down its cryptocurrency trading platform, beginning a phased suspension of services that will lead to a complete halt of trading next month and the eventual closure of the exchange in early 2027.
The company said the decision came after reviewing its business operations, current market conditions, and long-term strategic plans. As part of the wind-down process, new user registrations, deposits, and trading activity are already being restricted.
According to the exchange, all spot trading, futures markets, and other trading services will officially stop at 01:00 UTC on Aug. 26. While trading will end next month, users will still be able to access their accounts after the shutdown to review transaction history and request withdrawals. The platform itself is scheduled to cease operations completely on Jan. 31, 2027.
BitMart has advised customers to close any open trading positions before the August deadline and submit withdrawal requests shortly afterward. Withdrawals will continue to be processed, although requests made after the recommended window could be subject to additional verification measures, including identity checks, source-of-funds reviews, sanctions screening, and other security procedures.
The exchange has also begun disabling several of its products in stages. Futures accounts have been placed into reduce-only mode, preventing traders from opening new leveraged positions. Services such as copy trading, grid trading, API trading, staking, lending, Launchpad, and BitMart Earn are also being discontinued as the shutdown progresses.
The announcement had an immediate impact on BitMart's native token, BMX, which plunged nearly 60% within 24 hours and traded around $0.066 following the news.
The closure also coincided with comments from BitMart Global CEO Nathan "Nenter" Chow, who revealed on social media that he had been informed on July 24 that his employment was being terminated. Chow stated that he had not participated in company management or strategic decisions after that date and was not consulted about the exchange's closure. He said he only learned about the wind-down when it was publicly announced.
Chow urged customers to rely exclusively on official BitMart communications and encouraged users to follow the exchange's withdrawal instructions promptly. At the time of publication, BitMart had not publicly responded to his statements.
The situation represents a sharp shift from the company's messaging only weeks earlier. In a report covering the first half of the year, BitMart highlighted significant growth in its asset management business and outlined ambitions to expand into prediction markets, tokenized assets, and additional regulated markets.
The company had also recently announced that it secured an Australian Financial Services Licence and planned to strengthen its compliance and operational presence in the country. At the time, BitMart said it served more than 13 million users across over 180 countries and territories.
No explanation was provided for the sudden reversal between those expansion plans and the decision to shut down the platform.
BitMart has faced operational challenges before. In 2021, the exchange suffered a major hot wallet hack that resulted in losses of approximately $150 million. Earlier this year, the company also addressed concerns about withdrawal delays, attributing them to risk controls targeting accounts allegedly abusing promotional trading incentives. The exchange had promised to release an updated proof-of-reserves report after completing security reviews, but a full report has yet to appear.
The announcement comes just days after crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX revealed plans to permanently cease operations, adding to growing concerns over the challenges facing some digital asset trading platforms. Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) also commented on the news, describing it as another difficult moment for the industry while noting that BitMart's closure appeared to be an orderly wind-down process.