AscendEX to cease operations from July 1 as withdrawal risks mount

AscendEX said it ceased operations on July 1 after the European Union’s MiCA regime came fully into force and the platform lacked the required authorization, while financial and operational pressures worsened its position. The exchange said a planned strategic transaction intended to provide liquidity did not close, adding to strain from weak market conditions, and warned that customers may not be able to recover all digital assets held in their accounts. Automated withdrawals have been suspended and requests are being handled manually, with no assurance on timing or the amount users may ultimately receive. The shutdown follows weeks of scrutiny after on-chain investigator ZachXBT highlighted delayed withdrawals and said AscendEX’s publicly identified hot wallets showed little to no holdings of major assets such as ETH, USDT, USDC and SOL, while noting reserves could also sit in cold wallets, custodians or unlabeled addresses. He later urged affected users to contact law enforcement and financial regulators and said the exchange had continued taking deposits while many withdrawals remained pending.