Summary
BitMart is a centralized cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2017 by Sheldon Xia, incorporated in the Cayman Islands and operated by Bachi.Tech Corporation. In December 2021, the exchange suffered one of the largest crypto exchange hacks in history, with approximately $196 million in customer funds stolen after attackers compromised a private key to two hot wallets; reimbursement was promised but reported as slow and incomplete by many victims. The exchange has subsequently faced an FTC investigation, a UK FCA unauthorized-firm warning, an alleged 2025 data breach affecting 1.2 million users, recurring user complaints about frozen withdrawals, and its platform was used as a venue for DOJ-charged wash-trading schemes targeting retail investors.
Connected Entities
2 entities- + 6 more
Timeline(15 events)
2017-10-01
BitMart founded by Sheldon Xia; incorporated in the Cayman Islands.
2018-01-01
BitMart begins public operations and registers with FinCEN as a Money Services Business.
2019-08-01
BitMart raises Pre-A funding round led by Fenbushi Capital.
2021-11-01
BitMart completes Series B funding round of $13.7 million at a $300 million valuation, led by Alexander Capital Ventures.
2021-12-04
PeckShield publicly identifies an ongoing hack draining BitMart hot wallets; approximately $196 million in customer funds stolen via stolen private key. Funds laundered through 1inch and Tornado Cash.
2021-12-05
BitMart CEO Sheldon Xia confirms breach and pledges full reimbursement of affected users from exchange's own funds.
2022-01-07
CNBC reports that five weeks after the hack, many victims — particularly SafeMoon holders — have not received reimbursement.
2022-08-09
The FTC denies petitions by Bachi.Tech Corporation and Spread Technologies LLC to quash or limit Civil Investigative Demands, marking the FTC's first-ever cryptocurrency probe. Full document production ordered by August 19, 2022.
2023-01-01
According to reporting, Gotbit allegedly directed to conduct wash trades on BitMart to boost Robo Inu token volume to over 1.1 million daily — conduct later charged by the DOJ.
2024-09-06
UK Financial Conduct Authority issues unauthorized-firm warning against BitMart, stating it may be promoting financial services to UK residents without FCA permission.
2024-10-09
DOJ and SEC charge 18 individuals and four entities for market manipulation; court filings allege BitMart was used as a venue for wash trading by Robo Inu and Saitama-linked defendants.
2025-04-23
BitMart announces leadership transition: Sheldon Xia moves to Group President, Nenter (Nathan) Chow appointed Global CEO.
2025-07-09
Dark web forum post advertises a zero-day exploit targeting BitMart's backend infrastructure; days later, an alleged database of 1.2 million BitMart user records appears for sale. BitMart does not confirm the incident.
2025-11-19
BitMart US announces 49-state Money Transmitter License coverage and zero-fee trading program.
2026-02-27
BitMart US announces full U.S. operations launch with all-state licensing claimed (excluding New York pending BitLicense).
Decision Log
- hash: 6kLzP77RfL4Q2eZihAPfgU9Bzy1FjiQBjDp2BU9KSu68
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain and source URLs are archived via the Internet Archive.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 5/4/2026, 2:54:52 AM
last updated: 5/21/2026, 3:21:05 AM
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