{"investigation":{"slug":"ascendex-bitmax","entity_name":"AscendEX (BitMax)","trust_score":49,"severity_base":55,"score_modifier":-5.88,"confidence":0.78,"status":"published","content_type":"investigation","summary":"AscendEX, a Singapore-based centralized crypto exchange launched in 2018 as BitMax, suffered a roughly $77-78 million hot-wallet hack in December 2021 and ceased all operations on July 1, 2026, citing a lack of authorization under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation and the collapse of a liquidity-providing transaction with an unnamed counterparty. Withdrawals have been under manual review with no guaranteed timing or amount since July 6, 2026, and on-chain data showed a sharp reserve decline in the weeks before the shutdown. Some secondary details reported elsewhere, including the identity of the failed counterparty and a claimed causal link to a later EU supervisory review, are not corroborated by credible independent sources and are treated here as unverified.","sections":[{"content":"AscendEX was launched in 2018 under the name BitMax and rebranded to AscendEX in March 2021. The Singapore-based exchange described itself as a 'CeFi/DeFi' trading platform. In November 2021 it announced a $50 million Series B funding round led by Polychain Capital and Hack VC, with participation from Jump Capital and Alameda Research (the trading firm founded by Sam Bankman-Fried), at a reported valuation of $455 million. George Cao is identified in press coverage as the exchange's CEO and co-founder.","heading":"Corporate Background","sources":[{"url":"https://decrypt.co/85181/alameda-research-polychain-capital-back-cefi-defi-crypto-exchange-ascendex","name":"Decrypt: Alameda Research, Polychain Capital Back 'CeFi DeFi' Crypto Exchange AscendEx","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103006190/en/AscendEX-Announces-a-50mm-Series-B-Raise-Led-by-Polychain-Capital-and-Hack-VC","name":"Business Wire: AscendEX Announces a $50mm Series B Raise Led by Polychain Capital and Hack VC","type":"official","credibility":2}],"severity":"low"},{"content":"AscendEX disclosed via Twitter that it had identified unauthorized transactions from one of its hot wallets, in an incident reported by The Block on December 12, 2021. Blockchain analytics firm PeckShield estimated the stolen funds at approximately $77 million; other outlets reported figures up to $78 million, while on-chain analytics firm Merkle Science put the on-chain figure at roughly $71.25 million, a gap attributed to differing measurement methodology. Losses spanned Ethereum (about $60 million), BNB Smart Chain (about $9.2 million), and Polygon (about $8.5 million). The exchange said its cold wallets were unaffected, disabled deposits and withdrawals as a precaution, and said it would reimburse affected losses. The hack followed a similar breach at BitMart by about a week.","heading":"December 2021 Hot Wallet Hack (~$77-78 Million)","sources":[{"url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/127231/crypto-exchange-ascendex-hacked-for-78-million-in-latest-swindle","name":"The Block: Crypto exchange AscendEX hacked for $78 million in latest swindle","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/12/13/crypto-exchange-ascendex-hacked-losses-estimated-at-77m","name":"CoinDesk: Crypto Exchange AscendEX Hacked, Losses Estimated At $77M","type":"news_article","credibility":1},{"url":"https://www.merklescience.com/blog/hack-track-ascendex-attack-recent-fund-movement-analysis","name":"Merkle Science: Hack Track: AscendEX Attack Recent Fund Movement Analysis","type":"research","credibility":2}],"severity":"high"},{"content":"AscendEX ceased all operations effective July 1, 2026. In a notice to account holders dated July 6, 2026 and signed by the 'AscendEX Team,' the exchange said it lacked authorization under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), which took full effect on July 1, 2026, and cited 'other financial and operational difficulties' and broader crypto market conditions. The notice stated that a counterparty on an agreed transaction intended to provide liquidity 'did not perform.' As of July 6, 2026, all withdrawal requests became subject to manual review, automated withdrawals were paused, and account access was limited to offboarding purposes; users could no longer deposit, trade, swap, stake, or lend. The notice said the exchange could not guarantee processing times or final payout amounts, that no accountholder would be given priority outside the documented review process, and that if a formal insolvency process began, unresolved balances could become subject to that process. A forum user who reproduced the notice noted that API access issues had begun around June 29, 2026, several days before the notice was published.","heading":"July 2026 Shutdown and Withdrawal Freeze","sources":[{"url":"https://forum.firo.org/t/ascendex-cessation-of-operations-and-blocking-user-withdrawals/4338","name":"Firo community forum: AscendEX cessation of operations and blocking user withdrawals (reproducing exchange notice)","type":"community_report","credibility":3},{"url":"https://thedefiant.io/news/cefi/ascendex-halts-operations-freezes-automated-withdrawals","name":"The Defiant: AscendEX halts operations, freezes automated withdrawals","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/407654/ascendex-shuts-down","name":"The Block: AscendEX crypto exchange shuts down, no assurance on user payouts","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2026/07/290550-crypto-exchange-ascendex-halts-all-operations-offers-no-guarantees-on-customer-fund-withdrawals/","name":"Crowdfund Insider: Crypto Exchange AscendEX Halts All Operations, Offers No Guarantees on Customer Fund Withdrawals","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"critical"},{"content":"AscendEX's own notice and mainstream outlets describe the failed liquidity transaction only by referring to an unnamed counterparty that 'did not perform.' A single promotional blog post from rival exchange Bitrue names the counterparty as 'The Royal Investment Bank of Kelantan Inc.' (RIBK), alleging it failed to make an initial payment, fund escrow, advance committed financing, or complete an acquisition. No independent news outlet, regulator, or on-chain source corroborates this identification, and extensive searches for 'Royal Investment Bank of Kelantan' or 'RIBK Capital' turned up no record of such an institution. Because this claim rests on a single low-credibility, competitor-authored source, it should be treated as unverified and is included here only for completeness.","heading":"Alleged Failed Deal With 'RIBK Capital'","sources":[{"url":"https://www.bitrue.com/blog/avoid-the-ascendex-tragedy-by-choosing-bitrue","name":"Bitrue blog: Avoid the AscendEX Tragedy by Choosing Bitrue (names RIBK as counterparty; promotional, competitor-authored)","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://whale-alert.io/stories/c1cb011ff70aa6/AscendEX-permanently-shuts-down-trading-deposits-staking-and-swaps-after-MiCA-compliance-pressure-and-failed-liquidity-deal","name":"Whale Alert: AscendEX permanently shuts down trading, deposits, staking and swaps (describes only an unnamed counterparty)","type":"news_article","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"Before the shutdown, on-chain investigator ZachXBT publicly questioned AscendEX's reserves, stating in a Telegram post (reported around June 26, 2026) that the exchange appeared to lack large-cap token holdings such as ETH, USDT, and SOL, and asked the exchange to clarify why its hot wallets showed low liquidity. Multiple users separately reported stuck withdrawals, including one user whose roughly 4,196 USDT withdrawal had been pending since June 10, 2026. Crypto outlet Protos reported that on-chain data showed AscendEX's reserves fell by more than $240 million on June 20, 2026, a decline it said came less than two months after a comparable liquidity injection. Blockchain analytics platform Arkham, cited by Cointelegraph, found roughly $20.2 million held in AscendEX-tagged wallets around the same period; Protos separately reported a lower figure of about $13.5 million in Arkham-labeled addresses, more than $12 million of which was in illiquid tokens tied to the exchange's own ecosystem. These figures describe wallet holdings and reserve movements, not a confirmed total of user losses; no credible source reviewed provided a verified aggregate figure for user losses from the 2026 shutdown.","heading":"On-Chain Reserve Decline and Withdrawal Complaints","sources":[{"url":"https://protos.com/ascendex-shutdown-uncertainty-over-withdrawals-as-hot-wallets-lack-funds","name":"Protos: AscendEx shutdown: Uncertainty over withdrawals as hot wallets lack funds","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/ascendex-exchange-reportedly-faces-liquidity-issues-claims-zachxbt","name":"Cointelegraph: AscendEX exchange reportedly faces liquidity issues, claims ZachXBT","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"high"},{"content":"Multiple crypto-news aggregators reported that AscendEX co-founder and CEO George Cao did not issue a public statement as the exchange wound down, and that the exchange's social media activity went quiet during the period of withdrawal complaints. One report said ZachXBT published Cao's personal phone number on July 6, 2026, the same day as the official closure notice, for users unable to reach the exchange through normal channels. The Block's report on the shutdown likewise named no founder or executive, noting only that the company's written statement said it was 'currently assessing the company's financial position.' These leadership-conduct claims rely mainly on secondary aggregator reporting rather than primary statements from Cao himself, so confidence in the specific details is lower than for the core shutdown timeline.","heading":"Founder Conduct and Leadership Response","sources":[{"url":"https://www.kucoin.com/news/flash/ascendex-to-cease-operations-amid-liquidity-crisis-and-founder-silence","name":"KuCoin Flash: AscendEX to Cease Operations Amid Liquidity Crisis and Founder Silence","type":"news_article","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/407654/ascendex-shuts-down","name":"The Block: AscendEX crypto exchange shuts down, no assurance on user payouts","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"AscendEX's own closure notice states it lacked authorization under the EU's MiCA framework, which became fully applicable on July 1, 2026. Separately, France's financial markets regulator, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), had already placed ascendex.com on its public blacklist of unauthorized providers, a listing dated September 2024, stating the firm was not permitted to offer certain regulated financial services to French residents. No source reviewed establishes a causal link between AscendEX's collapse and the European Securities and Markets Authority's subsequent MiCA custody supervisory sweep announced in July 2026; that review covers only firms already authorized under MiCA, and AscendEX, which held no such authorization, is not described by any source as part of it.","heading":"Regulatory Status","sources":[{"url":"https://protectepargne.amf-france.org/sites/protect_epargne/files/pdf/13825/fr/ascendex_com.pdf","name":"AMF France: liste noire (unauthorized provider listing for ascendex.com)","type":"regulatory","credibility":1},{"url":"https://forum.firo.org/t/ascendex-cessation-of-operations-and-blocking-user-withdrawals/4338","name":"Firo community forum: AscendEX cessation of operations and blocking user withdrawals (reproducing exchange notice citing MiCA)","type":"community_report","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"Following the July 2026 shutdown, AscendEX users retained only the ability to log in to submit withdrawal requests for manual review and to update verification details; the exchange stated it could not guarantee either the timing or the final amount of any payout, and warned that unresolved balances could become subject to a formal insolvency process if one commenced. ZachXBT urged affected users to document their withdrawal requests and report unresolved cases to law enforcement and financial regulators. Given the unresolved reserve shortfall and the exchange's own acknowledgment that full payouts are not guaranteed, users with remaining balances face a materially elevated risk of partial or total loss.","heading":"User Impact and Recommended Actions","sources":[{"url":"https://forum.firo.org/t/ascendex-cessation-of-operations-and-blocking-user-withdrawals/4338","name":"Firo community forum: AscendEX cessation of operations and blocking user withdrawals (reproducing exchange notice)","type":"community_report","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.kucoin.com/news/flash/zachxbt-accuses-ascendex-of-withdrawing-delays-urges-users-to-report-to-authorities","name":"KuCoin Flash: ZachXBT accuses AscendEX of withdrawal delays, urges users to report to authorities","type":"news_article","credibility":3}],"severity":"high"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2018","event":"AscendEX launches under the name BitMax.","source":"Decrypt","source_url":"https://decrypt.co/85181/alameda-research-polychain-capital-back-cefi-defi-crypto-exchange-ascendex"},{"date":"2021-03","event":"BitMax rebrands as AscendEX.","source":"Decrypt","source_url":"https://decrypt.co/85181/alameda-research-polychain-capital-back-cefi-defi-crypto-exchange-ascendex"},{"date":"2021-11","event":"AscendEX announces a $50 million Series B round led by Polychain Capital and Hack VC, with Alameda Research and Jump Capital participating.","source":"Decrypt / Business Wire","source_url":"https://decrypt.co/85181/alameda-research-polychain-capital-back-cefi-defi-crypto-exchange-ascendex","date_evidence":"has today announced it raised $50 million in a Series B round","date_original":"2021-11-03"},{"date":"2021-12","event":"AscendEX discloses a hot-wallet hack across Ethereum, BSC and Polygon, with losses estimated between roughly $71 million and $78 million.","source":"The Block / CoinDesk","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/12/13/crypto-exchange-ascendex-hacked-losses-estimated-at-77m"},{"date":"2024-09","event":"France's AMF regulator lists ascendex.com on its unauthorized-provider blacklist.","source":"AMF France","source_url":"https://protectepargne.amf-france.org/sites/protect_epargne/files/pdf/13825/fr/ascendex_com.pdf"},{"date":"2026-06","event":"On-chain data shows AscendEX reserves fall by more than $240 million.","source":"Protos","source_url":"https://protos.com/ascendex-shutdown-uncertainty-over-withdrawals-as-hot-wallets-lack-funds","date_evidence":"AscendEx reserves dropped by over $240 million on June 20","date_original":"2026-06-20"},{"date":"2026-06","event":"On-chain investigator ZachXBT publicly questions AscendEX's hot-wallet liquidity and reserves of large-cap tokens.","source":"Cointelegraph","source_url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/ascendex-exchange-reportedly-faces-liquidity-issues-claims-zachxbt"},{"date":"2026-07-01","event":"AscendEX ceases all trading, deposit, staking and swap operations.","source":"AscendEX notice, reproduced on Firo forum","source_url":"https://forum.firo.org/t/ascendex-cessation-of-operations-and-blocking-user-withdrawals/4338","date_evidence":"AscendEX ceased operations with effect from 1 July 2026."},{"date":"2026-07-06","event":"AscendEX issues a notice to account holders placing all withdrawal requests under manual review with no guarantee on timing or final amount.","source":"AscendEX notice, reproduced on Firo forum","source_url":"https://forum.firo.org/t/ascendex-cessation-of-operations-and-blocking-user-withdrawals/4338","date_evidence":"As of July 6, 2026, all withdrawal requests are subject to manual review before 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