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The resignation of BitMart Chief Product Officer Terence Lee has stoked speculation online that the soon-to-be-shuttered crypto exchange could well be insolvent.
In a statement, posted online, Lee claims that he wasn’t “responsible for the exchange’s core business,” and that he’s not involved in BitMart’s “operations, management, or asset-related matters of the company or any of its affiliated entities.”
He also stressed that he has “no authority over platform assets, accounts, or matters relating to user funds” and said that he wouldn’t comment on any legal proceedings, calling his resignation “my sole public clarification on this matter.”
Crypto streamer Travladd said that Lee’s departure “screams insolvency,” and claimed that he’s resigning “before shit hits the fan.”
BitMart situation has ‘gotten out of hand’
According to “Cao,” a lawyer who’s previously served BitMart demand papers, the “situation has gotten out of hand.”
They said that “Not being in control of assets doesn’t exempt a co-founder from responsibility; you don’t get to opt out of accountability by stepping back once things collapse.”
I don’t usually air personal work here, but the @BitMartExchange situation has gotten out of hand, and my clients are victims of a chaotic and poorly managed cessation of operations.
— Cao (@CaoLinSan) August 12, 2026
We’ve served formal demand letters across multiple jurisdictions and tried to reach the… https://t.co/f1szeKO97Z
BitMart’s withdrawal issues
Prior to Lee’s departure, Open Gradient CEO Matthew Wang had already accused BitMart of insolvency after his market maker couldn’t retrieve its funds.
He also claimed that it was “insane” that BitMart asked token holders to lock up their tokens one week before it announced that BitMart would cease operations by January 31, 2027.
Wang’s post was apparently deleted while BitMart’s closure announcement on X was “withheld” from UK users “in response to a legal demand.”
The announcement promised an “orderly wind-down” and claimed, “withdrawal services will remain available.”
BitMart users scrambled to withdraw their funds as the price of its token fell 80% between July 24 and July 26.
However, there were significant delays, with users experiencing difficulties weeks later.
Co-founder denies rugpull
Eventually, BitMart co-founder Sheldon Xia broke a two-week silence to deny that the firm was conducting an exit scam.
In a statement that included no figures or timeline, Xia said the team is still tallying and consolidating what it holds.
He also floated the possibilty of “involving the courts and independent third-party auditors to provide a transparent report.”
Protos has reached out to BitMart for comment and will update this piece should we hear anything back.
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