Market Maker Alleges Insolvency Amid BitMart Frozen Withdrawals

Behind BitMart's Insolvency Storm: What Users Need to Know

Wu Blockchain's report on August 11, 2026, turned attention to BitMart frozen withdrawals after an OpenGradient co-founder accused the exchange of insolvency. 

This article covers what the co-founder alleged, the exchange's official shutdown timeline, and how its founder has responded so far.

According to Wu Blockchain's post, OpenGradient co-founder and CEO Matthew Wang said his market-making team's funds are stuck on the platform and cannot be withdrawn. 

Source: Official Post

A market maker is a firm that provides trading liquidity by placing buy and sell orders. Wang shared screenshots of a wealth management team pitching a locked savings campaign to token holders roughly one week before the shutdown notice, calling the BitMart frozen withdrawals situation a sign of deeper trouble.

What Wang Alleged

Wang's posts on X (on 10 August 2026), cited by Wu Blockchain, described the situation in three points.

1. His team's balances are stuck on the platform, which he called insolvent.

2. The wealth management team proposed a six-month locked savings plan with a fifteen percent APY, sent to OpenGradient on July 13, 2026.

3. The campaign asked token holders to lock tokens roughly one week before the shutdown was announced.

Wang called the timing a liquidity play rather than a genuine savings product. He pointed to the BitMart frozen withdrawals issue as proof that the exchange needed fresh liquidity even as it prepared to shut down. 

The company has not directly responded to Wang's specific claim as of this writing (11 August 2026).

Official Wind-Down Timeline

BitMart confirmed the shutdown in an announcement published July 26, 2026. The notice, available on its Help Center, laid out these dates.

Source: Official Announcement

The company said withdrawals would remain available throughout the process, subject to identity, security, and compliance checks. 

That claim sits uneasily next to reports of BitMart frozen withdrawals from users and now from a market maker.

Why The Claim Matters

The insolvency accusation is not independently verified. It rests on a social media post, not a regulatory filing or audit. Still, it lands at a sensitive point in the wind-down, when several users are already reporting delays pulling funds off the platform, feeding broader concern over BitMart's frozen withdrawals across the community.

Founder's Response

Sheldon Xia addressed broader concerns on August 8, 2026, saying the company had not run away and would not run away. He said the core team was conducting an asset inventory and consolidating holdings. 

Xia did not release reserve figures, a repayment schedule, or processing data. There is still no full proof-of-reserves report, a public accounting showing an exchange holds enough assets to cover user balances.

What Comes Next

Trading services are set to close by August 26, 2026, with full closure planned for January 31, 2027. Whether the accusation reflects a genuine liquidity gap will likely depend on whether verifiable reserve data or independent audit results appear in the coming weeks.

Conclusion

The reports of BitMart frozen withdrawals remain a claim, not a confirmed finding. Wang's statements raise real questions about timing and liquidity, but nothing so far proves the exchange cannot meet its obligations. 

Users still moving assets off the platform should watch for an official proof-of-reserves report, since that document would do more than any statement to settle whether the wind-down is orderly or not.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency markets are volatile; readers should conduct their own research before making decisions.