BitMart will close its trading platform, gradually suspending new registrations, deposits and orders from 26 Jul. It becomes the second established exchange in a week to announce a shutdown for commercial reasons, after BitMEX said on 23 Jul it would wind down in September.
The Marshall Islands-registered GBM Global Inc., which operates BitMart, founded the exchange in 2017. It grew to serve more than 10mn users across over 200 countries, list more than 1,700 trading pairs and report roughly $1.6bn in trading volume in the 24 hours before the closure notice.
A shutdown its own CEO says he missed
BitMart's own explanation cites only "operating conditions, market environment, and future strategic direction." Former Global CEO Nenter Chow, in a statement posted to X, said he was told on 24 Jul that his employment was being terminated with immediate effect, that he was not consulted on the shutdown decision and that he learned of it only once it became public. BitMart has not responded to that account. It does not establish what caused the closure, but it places the decision above the level of the company's own chief executive.
How the phased wind-down actually unfolds
BitMart said new registrations, deposits, new positions and new orders began gradually shutting down from 01:30UTC on 26 Jul. Futures accounts move to reduce-only and spot trading stops accepting new orders, while copy trading, grid trading and other automated services are being phased out. All spot and futures trading stops at 01:00UTC on 26 Aug, and BitMart plans to cease operations entirely at 15:59UTC on 31 Jan 2027.
Withdrawals remain open throughout, though BitMart warned that identity, source-of-funds, sanctions and blockchain-risk checks could delay processing. The exchange recommends users complete verification and close positions before 01:00UTC on 26 Aug, and submit withdrawal requests before 05:00UTC the same day.
A history that makes the statement land oddly
BitMart has weathered trouble before. In December 2021, hackers drained roughly $196mn from its Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain hot wallets, one of the larger exchange breaches of that period, and the exchange became the subject of the US Federal Trade Commission's first cryptocurrency investigation the following year.
More recently, the timing looks jarring rather than troubled. BitMart published its H1 2026 report on 17 Jul, citing assets under management up roughly 256% against bitcoin's 33% fall over the same period, a newly introduced prediction-market product and a freshly secured Australian financial services licence. Then-CEO Nenter Chow wrote in the report that BitMart was intending "to be here for the next eight, and we are building accordingly." Seven days later, by his own account, he was told his employment was being terminated. Two days after that, BitMart announced the shutdown. BMX, BitMart's own token, fell 58% in the 24 hours after the announcement, extending a decline of roughly 70% over the past year.
The closure lands 12 days after EXMO began its own wind-down, a separate case driven by a UK sanctions designation over alleged Russia-linked activity rather than a commercial decision. Between BitMEX, EXMO and now BitMart, the cause differs each time, but the direction doesn't: trading activity keeps consolidating around larger platforms with deeper liquidity, broader product ranges and greater capacity to absorb regulatory and technology costs. None of the three shutdowns by itself proves a wider crisis, but together they show that longevity and brand recognition no longer guarantee survival.
