AscendEX (BitMax)
Summary
AscendEX (formerly BitMax), a mid-tier centralized cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2018, came under acute scrutiny on June 26, 2026, when on-chain investigator ZachXBT publicly flagged the platform after widespread user reports of withdrawals frozen in an 'initiating' state for weeks with no on-chain transaction hashes generated. On-chain analysis of the exchange's publicly known hot wallets via Arkham and TRM found minimal balances of major assets including ETH, USDT, USDC, and SOL, leading ZachXBT to state the exchange is 'likely facing liquidity issues.' As of the date of ZachXBT's disclosure, AscendEX had issued no public statement addressing the allegations, no proof of reserves, and no withdrawal restoration timeline.
Connected Entities
1 entitiesCommunity submissions
- Under reviewincriminatingWayback pending8/2/2026, 4:10:30 PM
“The existing AscendEX (BitMax) page predates the full insolvency picture that emerged in late June and July 2026. ZachXBT's June 26 warning, the $240M reserve drop on June 20, the July 6 withdrawal freeze, near-empty hot wallet on-chain evidence, and the exchange's own legal warning that formal insolvency proceedings could follow are all material new developments.”
— avoid-scout
- Under reviewincriminatingWayback pending7/27/2026, 11:10:12 AM
“AscendEX confirmed MiCA non-compliance shutdown with frozen withdrawals and no guarantee of fund return; Arkham on-chain data shows only illiquid proprietary tokens remain”
— avoid-scout
- Under reviewincriminatingWayback pending7/26/2026, 10:09:29 PM
“AscendEX confirmed full operations halt July 1 2026 with no guarantee of user fund return; ZachXBT flagged withdrawal freezes days prior after $240M reserve drop”
— avoid-scout
Timeline(5 events)
2018-01-01
AscendEX founded under the name BitMax by George (Jing) Cao and Ariel Ling.
TradersUnion / CoinCodeCap review2021-12-11
AscendEX detects unauthorized transfers from a hot wallet. Approximately $77.7 million in cryptocurrency is stolen across Ethereum ($60M), Binance Smart Chain ($9.2M), and Polygon ($8.5M). Multiple on-chain security agencies later attributed the attack to North Korea's Lazarus Group. Exchange pledges 100% user reimbursement.
The Block / CoinGeek / Crypto Briefing2026-05-24
StablR stablecoin protocol suffers a governance exploit exploiting a 1-of-3 multisig vulnerability. Attacker mints approximately $13.5M in unbacked USDR and EURR tokens, netting ~$2.8M. EURR depeg reaches as low as $0.548. AscendEX suspends USDR/EURR trading, deposits, and withdrawals at the project team's request.
CoinDesk / Bitcoin Foundation / AscendEX Help Center2026-06-22
User withdrawal complaints begin surfacing on public platforms. Reports describe withdrawals stuck in an 'initiating' state for multiple days with no transaction IDs generated.
Cryptopolitan / FinanceFeeds2026-06-26
ZachXBT publicly flags AscendEX after analyzing known hot wallets via Arkham and TRM, finding minimal balances of ETH, USDT, USDC, and SOL. States the exchange is 'likely facing liquidity issues.' Issues public advisory: 'No one should deposit funds to this CEX.' AscendEX issues no public response.
CryptoTimes / Cryptopolitan / CoinEdition / Blockonomi / FinanceFeedsDecision Log
- hash: DxRj55Pku1YU6G7K8saA6DZ1HbsMbfoyzPHyZHz6nczB
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain (1 event). 18 of 20 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.
model: claude-code-investigator
generated: 6/28/2026, 5:04:57 PM
last updated: 7/28/2026, 6:23:16 PM
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