BitMart's leadership is under a public deadline to answer for frozen user funds and unpaid employee salaries. A Chinese-language account associated with the exchange demanded that founders Sheldon Lee and Yi Li provide verifiable asset disclosures and a detailed repayment plan by August 19, according to statements posted this week. The demand lands just days before the exchange is set to discontinue trading on August 26.
The August 19 deadline
The account's demands are specific. It wants evidence of BitMart's wallets, assets, liabilities, and usable reserves. It also asks for explanations on who restricted withdrawals and when, and questions whether BitMart kept encouraging deposits or trading after knowing about withdrawal problems. The list includes a call for investigations into affiliated accounts and related companies, and raises questions about accounts allegedly linked to Yi Li that may have held tens of millions of dollars with batch withdrawals. The account stressed that those allegations are not proven.
The deadline also covers full payment of salaries and outstanding compensation to employees. Many users still cannot withdraw funds, and some employees have not received final pay. The repayment plan demanded by the account would need to detail remaining assets, liabilities, expected recoveries, and the order of repayment.
Lee's response
Sheldon Lee responded by calling the material 'fabricated rumors.' He said BitMart had collected evidence and would file a police report and send a lawyer's letter to X. He later claimed that the account had been hacked and the issues were not posted by current employees.
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT questioned why BitMart would not return funds if it had liquidity, and criticized the lack of transparency. That point is hard to ignore: the exchange announced its shutdown on July 26, and the withdrawal problems have been a central part of the public pressure.
The shutdown timeline
BitMart's planned closure is moving fast. Trading stops August 26, and the official shutdown is set for January 31, 2027. Users have a narrow window to pull funds, but many say they can't.
BitMEX also announced its own shutdown on July 23, with operations stopping by September 23. Analyst Ran Neuner said exchange shutdowns are part of a broader market clean-up. The timing isn't great for BitMart — the public demands for transparency and repayment come at the worst possible moment, right before the trading halt.
What happens now
The August 19 deadline is the next concrete milestone. Lee has disputed the claims and promised legal action, but the account's questions about wallet evidence and repayment order haven't been answered publicly. Whether BitMart produces the requested disclosures or continues to call the posts a hack, the underlying problem remains: users are still stuck, and employees say they're owed money.
