BitMart founder Sheldon denied that the exchange had fled with customer funds as users continued to report withdrawal problems and scrutiny intensified around the platform's wind-down. In an Aug. 8 post on X, written in Chinese, he said the team is still conducting asset inventory, asset consolidation and system maintenance, and urged users not to trust rumors, screenshots and alleged leaks attributed to current and former staff. He did not provide figures, dates or a reserve report. The statement came on the same day BitMart had set as the deadline for U.S. customers to withdraw crypto. BitMart said on July 26 it would begin an orderly wind-down tied to operating conditions, the market environment and strategic direction, halted new account creation, deposit intake and new orders that day, and said all spot and futures trading will stop on Aug. 26, with all operations ending by Jan. 31. Users had reported access problems even before the shutdown announcement, and one customer said $80,000 in crypto was trapped on the platform. Separate uncertainty has surrounded the company after global CEO Nenter "Nathan" Chow said he learned on July 24 that his employment had ended and that he had no role in the wind-down decision. BitMart's holding company is registered in the Cayman Islands, but CIMA allegedly told reporters on Aug. 6 that BitMart and related GBM entities are not and have never been licensed or otherwise authorized there to conduct a virtual-asset business. A promised proof-of-reserves report has yet to be published.