TLDR
- On-chain investigator ZachXBT flagged AscendEX over reports of withdrawals delayed for days or weeks
- Known hot wallets appear to lack large-cap tokens like ETH, USDT, USDC, and SOL
- AscendEX has not issued a public statement addressing the liquidity concerns
- The exchange was previously hacked for around $78 million in December 2021
- Users with frozen funds are being targeted by fake “recovery” scammers
On-chain investigator ZachXBT has publicly flagged centralized exchange AscendEX, warning that the platform may be facing liquidity trouble after a wave of user reports described withdrawals stuck for days or weeks with no resolution.
ZachXBT: AscendEX May Be Delaying User Withdrawals Due to Liquidity Issues
ZachXBT issued a community alert saying he has observed multiple reports that centralized exchange AscendEX, formerly Bitmax, is delaying user withdrawals for days or weeks, or not processing withdrawals.… pic.twitter.com/bluRdEdDys
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) June 26, 2026
ZachXBT said he reviewed AscendEX’s known hot wallets using analytics platforms Arkham and TRM. He said the wallets appeared to lack major assets including ETH, USDT, USDC, and SOL — tokens he would expect to see in sufficient supply at a functioning exchange.
“I have observed multiple reports that the centralized exchange AscendEX is delaying user withdrawals for days or weeks or not processing withdrawals,” ZachXBT wrote in his Investigations Telegram channel.
He shared wallet addresses on EVM, Tron, and Solana networks as part of his review.
What the On-Chain Data Shows
It is worth being clear about what hot wallet data can and cannot prove. Hot wallets hold working balances for day-to-day transactions. Most exchanges keep the bulk of their assets in cold storage, which is often not publicly labeled or easy to identify on-chain.
Thin hot wallet balances raise a concern, but they do not confirm insolvency on their own. ZachXBT himself described the situation as “likely” liquidity issues, stopping short of a definitive claim.
Still, the pattern of user complaints adds weight to the concern. Many users say their withdrawal requests have sat in an “initiating” state for weeks, with no transaction hash generated. Others say requests were rejected without explanation.
Several users also reported that support tickets were met with a brief acknowledgment and then silence.
Background on AscendEX
AscendEX was founded in 2018 by George Jing Cao and Ariel Ling. The platform was previously known as BitMax before rebranding.
In December 2021, the exchange was hacked for approximately $78 million, with the Lazarus Group later linked to the attack.
In May 2026, AscendEX separately suspended trading in two stablecoins after what it described as a hacking incident involving abnormal token minting.
The exchange’s help center does acknowledge deposit and withdrawal delays, and past disruption notices have cited wallet upgrades and maintenance as causes. None of those notices directly address the current scale of complaints.
Warning for Users With Funds on the Platform
Users reporting frozen withdrawals are now being targeted by scammers offering to recover funds for an upfront fee. These so-called “recovery” services are a known follow-on scam that targets victims of exchange distress and should be avoided entirely.
ZachXBT has flagged similar issues at other exchanges this year, including JuCoin, as scrutiny of centralized exchange reserves has grown across the industry.
AscendEX has not issued a public response to the liquidity concerns at the time of writing. The exchange could reduce uncertainty by publishing verifiable proof of reserves and a clear timeline for restoring withdrawals.
