BitMart opens user feedback portal as action plan continues to frustrate users

BitMart has opened what it describes as a formal portal for affected users to send their questions, as customers continue to wait for an update about their funds one week after the exchange hired restructuring firm Alvarez & Marsal. 

Per the blog post, the channel will only collect concerns. It won’t process withdrawals, and it did not provide any updates about long-standing queries about reserve figures, recovery timelines or refunds. 

Along with the channel announcement, BitMart also restated its commitment to naming a third-party to takeover operations. 

Did Bitmart open a withdrawal portal?

No, BitMart has not launched a portal to claim or withdraw funds stuck on the exchange. Filing a ticket on the portal does not process a withdrawal and does not change the status of any account or assets. 

The bitmart.com/portal confirmed in the exchange’s latest announcement was presented as a centralized venue for users to send their questions about withdrawal arrangements, the near-term action plan and next steps. 

BitMart said the feedback will directly feed the review it is running with Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) and its legal advisers. 

The only formal channel is the “User Engagement Portal.” Any queries sent to any other official exchange channels will be treated as an ordinary support ticket, and won’t be fed into the review process. BitMart said feedback needs only an email address rather than an account login.

Submissions are collected in four buckets: withdrawal enquiries, general feedback, potential investor or restructuring proposals, and other.

BitMart asked users to follow the link in the verification email they receive from support@bitmart.zendesk.com to complete the ticket submission process, with a confirmation number. 

For users who complained about difficulties reaching the portal early on Wednesday, BitMart said its team was looking into it.

Echo Base is coordinating frustrated customers

The portal is the latest step in a saga that began on July 26, when BitMart announced it would wind down after nine years, halting new accounts, deposits and fresh orders the same day. Trading ended on August 26, with full platform closure originally set for January 31, 2027. 

The company later softened the plan, saying on August 21 it might combine creditor payouts with a phased restart of some operations, and it hired White & Case as restructuring counsel.

However, users have not gotten the update they want the most: how to get their funds off the exchange. BitMart has still not published the proof-of-reserves report it promised on May 23. 

Public numbers are thin and unflattering: the exchange has self-reported about $5.36 million in reserves, most of it in its own BMX token, against daily volume that once ran near $272.6 million. Founder Sheldon Xia said on August 8 that the company had not absconded with funds, but offered no figures to back it.

The one organized push on behalf of customers is coming from Echo Base, a firm that buys into distressed digital-asset companies. It formed an ad hoc committee of BitMart claimholders on September 3 and retained two law firms, Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor and Ashbury Legal, after a funded rescue offer of up to $10 million went unanswered. 

Echo Base chief executive, Roshan Dharia, called the A&M hire BitMart’s most encouraging move since July, while faulting what came with it.

BitMart says more is coming. It has promised to detail its action plan and consultation process within three weeks of the September 9 announcement, and to name an independent third party to oversee operations and hold assets during the review. 

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