AscendEX Shuts Down With User Payouts Unclear
AscendEX said it ceased operations on July 1 after MiCA authorisation, liquidity and operational pressures, with account access limited to offboarding. The exchange said it could not give assurances on withdrawal timing or amounts, while ZachXBT had flagged nearly empty hot wallets.
AscendEX ceased operating on July 1, leaving customers without a firm timetable for recovering their full account balances.
In an official notice dated July 6, the crypto exchange said regulatory, financial and operational challenges had forced the shutdown and warned that its liquidity problems could restrict withdrawals.
The exchange cited the full implementation of the European Union’s MiCA rules on July 1 as one factor, saying AscendEX does not hold the required authorization.
It also said a strategic transaction expected to provide liquidity for platform growth had failed to close.
“We relied on an agreed strategic transaction that was to provide liquidity to grow the platform, and the counterparty did not perform; wider crypto market conditions have added further pressure,” AscendEX wrote.
“We are currently assessing the company's financial position and considering what options, if any, may be available in relation to account holders.”
Shutdown and liquidity constraint
AscendEX said existing users may not be able to withdraw all of the crypto balances held on the platform.
Account access is restricted to limited offboarding purposes, while automated withdrawals have been paused.
Withdrawal requests now face manual review and may be delayed.
The exchange said it is “not in a position to give assurances about timing or amounts today” and that no account holder or group of account holders would receive priority outside the documented review process.
The Block reported that the exchange was founded in 2018 under the BitMax name and had previously suffered a significant hack in 2021, losing approximately $78 million.
That incident is separate from the current shutdown, which the company attributed to regulatory, financial and operational pressures.
Prior warning signs and next steps
Last month, onchain investigator ZachXBT said on Telegram that he had seen multiple reports of AscendEX delaying withdrawals for days or weeks.
He also said his analysis of the exchange’s hot wallets showed nearly empty reserves of major assets including ETH, USDT, USDC and SOL.
In follow-up messages, ZachXBT recommended that users report the platform to law enforcement and regulatory agencies.
AscendEX said any formal insolvency or similar process could determine how unresolved balances or claims are treated.
“We expect to write to you again with further detail on the position and on next steps as and when we are in a position to do so,” the exchange said.
The notice did not provide a recovery percentage, payout timetable or insolvency filing, leaving the treatment of unresolved customer balances open.
