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BitMart Considers Partial Restart and Creditor Payouts

BitMart has brought in White & Case for a restructuring after its earlier shutdown plan. The exchange is now also leaving room for creditor payouts and a phased restart of parts of its business.

By Mike Hesp
• 2 min read
BitMart Considers Partial Restart and Creditor Payouts

Key Takeaways

  • BitMart is exploring a restructuring with a phased restart of parts of its business and payouts to creditors.
  • The company has appointed White & Case as an adviser and expects to share a roadmap on September 9.
  • The shutdown announcement hit BMX, which fell about 58% in 24 hours and is down 83% this year.

Crypto exchange BitMart is exploring a restructuring that would pair a phased restart of parts of its business with payouts to creditors. That is a notable turn, less than four weeks after the company said it would shut down.

Restructuring After Shutdown Plan

BitMart said in a statement that the plan could include an orderly, phased resumption of certain activities, along with payouts to creditors. The company has appointed White & Case as an adviser for the restructuring and expects to share a roadmap on September 9.

The mention of creditors is new in BitMart's public communication. In the July 26 shutdown notice, the company only cited operating conditions, the market environment, and future strategy as reasons for the shutdown, without giving a specific cause.

BitMart had already stopped new registrations, deposits, and trading orders, and put futures accounts into reduce-only mode. After nine years in the market, the company also announced that all trading must end on August 26, while platform operations would be shut down on January 31, 2027. Withdrawals will remain possible for now, but only under extra compliance checks.

BMX Took a Hard Hit

The shutdown announcement also hit BitMart's own BMX token. The price fell about 58% in 24 hours at the time and is now down 83% this year.

For European crypto readers, the key point is that a major crypto exchange is not only choosing to wind down, but is now also leaving open the possibility that parts of the operation could still come back. Restructurings like this can say a lot about the pressure exchanges face in a weak market, especially when customers still have funds outstanding.

That fits with the broader concerns around BitMart itself: users have long complained about blocked withdrawals and asked for more clarity on the balance between assets and liabilities, as also came up in the recent discussion about the audit demand after complaints about frozen funds.

What This Means for Users

BitMart was founded in 2017 and is based in the Cayman Islands. The platform says it operates in more than 180 countries. That broad international reach makes the handling of funds and any possible restart especially sensitive, because users from multiple jurisdictions may be dealing with different rules.

The company also came under pressure earlier after a major security breach in December 2021, when hackers reportedly stole about $150 million (€128 million) from hot wallets, according to earlier reports. That was followed in 2022 by oversight from the U.S. FTC, which further increased attention on the platform.

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