BitMart plans to shut down its cryptocurrency exchange, with trading services scheduled to end on Aug. 26 and full cessation of operations planned for Jan. 31, 2027.

In an announcement published on its support site, the exchange said the decision came after an evaluation of its operating conditions, the market environment and its future strategy. BitMart said the wind-down would be carried out in an orderly manner.

Under the shutdown plan, BitMart has already stopped accepting new user registrations and deposits. Futures trading has been moved to reduce-only mode, meaning users may reduce existing positions but cannot increase them. Spot markets are no longer accepting new orders, restricting new trading activity while the platform proceeds with the wind-down.

The decision adds BitMart to a growing list of cryptocurrency trading venues that have announced closures in recent months, including BitMEX and Dango. For users of centralized exchanges, a staged closure can shift the main concern from trading access to account access, withdrawal processing and the timing of final operational deadlines.

Wind-down process and user access

BitMart’s notice describes a staged shutdown rather than an immediate halt to all services. The exchange has stopped onboarding new users, and deposits are no longer allowed. For existing users, those changes limit the ability to add funds or begin new trading activity on the platform.

Trading access has also been curtailed. Futures markets are operating in reduce-only mode, while spot markets are closed to new orders. That effectively freezes new spot trading while the company works through the remaining operational steps before ending trading services on Aug. 26.

BitMart also said withdrawal processing may be affected during the wind-down. According to the exchange, some withdrawal requests may require additional compliance and security reviews, which could extend processing times. The statement followed user complaints after the shutdown announcement about slower withdrawal handling.

BMX declines as users report withdrawal delays

BitMart’s native token, BMX, fell sharply after the shutdown announcement. The token was trading around $0.09464 at the time of writing, down nearly 70% from about $0.31 late Friday. BMX reportedly touched as low as $0.1058 early Saturday before extending its decline, later falling back below $0.10 after a brief recovery.

Some users posted on X about withdrawal delays after the announcement. The posts described longer-than-usual processing times, including claims that Tether USD (USDT) withdrawal requests remained pending for hours.

On-chain attribution data from Arkham showed wallets attributed to BitMart holding about $71 million in crypto assets on Sunday, compared with roughly $102 million on July 6. The asset breakdown highlighted in Arkham data included about $41.5 million in WeFi’s WFI tokens and a tracked USDT balance of roughly $91,000.

Wallet attribution does not by itself establish what portion of those assets is immediately available for withdrawal at any given time. However, the data provides a snapshot of crypto assets still associated with addresses attributed to BitMart.

Confusion over BMX and BitMEX-related developments

In the days after the BitMart news, some users on X appeared to confuse BitMart’s BMX token with BitMEX’s token and shutdown process. In one widely circulated post, a Mandarin-speaking community participant discussed BMX’s price decline while referring to the broader exchange-closure narrative online.

Replies to the post noted that the closure dates being discussed did not match BitMart’s timeline and appeared to reflect BitMEX’s own shutdown announcement schedule. Earlier coverage had noted BitMEX’s shutdown date and reported that BitMEX’s token, BMEX, dropped sharply shortly after its notice.

Several other users in the Mandarin-speaking crypto community also reportedly mixed up BMX with BitMEX. It was not immediately clear whether the confusion had any direct effect on BMX trading volumes or flows.

Broader implications of the BitMart shutdown

BitMart’s decision comes amid a broader contraction among some crypto derivatives platforms and centralized exchanges. When a trading venue exits the market, the initial effects are operational: deposits stop, new orders are restricted, and users focus on withdrawals. The process may also affect liquidity, custody-risk perceptions and the way traders assess access to funds during a wind-down period.

BitMart’s timeline sets out several stages. Trading services are scheduled to end on Aug. 26, while the company expects to continue operating through a longer wind-down period before ceasing operations on Jan. 31, 2027. During the earlier stage, users are primarily dealing with account access and withdrawal reliability. As the platform’s operating scope narrows, liquidity and settlement mechanics may become more prominent issues.

User reports of delays, together with BitMart’s statement that some withdrawals may require additional compliance and security checks, indicate that processing times may vary across assets and requests. The remaining operational questions concern how consistently withdrawals are processed for different asset types and whether additional compliance or security steps extend timelines for users as the exchange moves toward the Aug. 26 trading cutoff and the planned Jan. 31, 2027 closure.