AscendEX Shuts Down, Leaving User Asset Recovery in Doubt

The exchange, originally founded in 2018 as BitMax, pinned its collapse on the failure of a strategic liquidity deal and broader market volatility. Company leadership stated that the counterparty to a planned transaction failed to perform, leaving the firm unable to meet its obligations. Currently, all withdrawal requests are subject to internal scrutiny, with no guarantees regarding the timing or the total value of assets that users might eventually reclaim.

This collapse follows mounting public scrutiny led by on-chain investigator ZachXBT, who had flagged significant delays in user withdrawals. ZachXBT previously highlighted that the exchange’s public hot wallets appeared depleted of major assets like ETH, USDT, and SOL. While the exchange acknowledged these operational pressures, it noted that potential insolvency proceedings could dictate the ultimate handling of remaining customer claims. The platform previously faced a major security setback in 2021, when a breach linked to the Lazarus Group resulted in approximately $78 million in losses.