BitMart

Centralized exchange BitMart, founded in 2017 in the Cayman Islands, has evolved over the years into a multi-product platform with a global reach. The platform is known for a wide range of services: from spot and margin trading to derivatives, a P2P marketplace, an NFT marketplace, staking, and its own Visa crypto card. Its US division, BitMart US, stands out, positioning itself as fully licensed and regulated. The project was launched by entrepreneur Sheldon Xia in 2017, with the operating company bachi.tech registered in the Cayman Islands. The public launch took place in 2018 after registration with FinCEN. Key milestones: Pre-A round (August 2019, lead - Fenbushi Capital), Series B of $13.7 million (November 2021, lead - Alexander Capital Ventures), major hack in December 2021 (approximately $196 million), launch of NFT marketplace (June 2022), Futures V2.0 (July 2024), release of BitMart Card (September 2025), and leadership change (April 2025 - Nenter Chow became CEO, Sheldon Xia moved to Group President). As of Aug 3, 2026 , the exchange serves over 13 million users in 180 countries. Regulation and Licenses The primary jurisdiction is the Cayman Islands. In the US, BitMart operates through its subsidiary platform BitMart US, registered as a Money Services Business (MSB) with FinCEN (number 31000124303102). By early 2026, the company reported coverage of all 50 states and territories, except for New York State (lack of BitLicense). In Australia, an AFSL license was obtained in April 2026 following the enactment of the Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Act 2026; oversight is by ASIC. In Hong Kong, on June 27, 2026, a VATP license application was submitted to the SFC through the local entity Spread Technologies Hong Kong Limited. In the European Union, after MiCA came into force (July 1, 2026), the platform, according to industry reports from July 7, 2026, does not have a full CASP license, raising questions about its legal operations in the EEA (previously used the Lithuanian registration of Mobismart Holdings OÜ from April 4, 2023). In 2022, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched an investigation into bachi.tech - the agency's first crypto-specific case related to BitMart's activities. Prohibited jurisdictions: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, the Netherlands (for certain products), as well as Crimea, DNR, and LNR. Since November 2021, the exchange has excluded users from mainland China. Mandatory KYC is in effect with two levels: Level 1 (basic information) and Level 2 (ID + biometrics) - required for card issuance and higher limits. Products and Fees Spot trading is the core product since inception. Margin trading launched in mid-2022. Perpetual futures are an actively developing segment; on July 8, 2024, Futures V2.0 was implemented with improved matching. Copy trading is available for both futures and spot; conditions were updated in early 2026. "Earn" products include flexible/fixed savings, on-chain staking, and Dual Investment. Crypto Loans were launched in 2025-2026. Launchpad/LaunchPrime and Shooting Star are multi-track pipelines for new listings; examples include ZAMA and Backpack (early 2026). Pre-Market allows trading "pre-tokens" before official listing via USDT staking (active since 2025-2026). P2P marketplace with escrow; EUR support added in 2026. NFT marketplace has been operating since June 6, 2022. BitMart Card (Visa) was announced on September 9, 2025; by 2026, expansion to 115+ countries was stated; KYC Level 2 is required for application. Fiat gateways are through third-party providers (MoonPay, Banxa, Simplex, Alchemy Pay, Legend Trading) with their own KYC and fees. The native token is BMX (ERC-20), with a supply of 1 billion, launched in March 2018. Utilities: discounts on trading fees when paying with BMX, participation in campaigns; a buyback and burn program is in effect (20% of quarterly revenue until 50% of the supply is destroyed). BMX is listed on external exchanges, including KuCoin (February 2024). API - public REST and WebSocket for spot, margin, and futures (v2), demo environment for futures, up to 10 keys per user with IP binding. Order types: limit, market, post-only, IOC, trailing stop, TP/SL for futures; stop-losses and triggers. Hedge and one-way positions are supported. Spot fees: maker 0.02% , taker 0.06% ; VIP tier system with possible discounts via BMX. Volumes and Liquidity Daily spot volume $1.35B . Derivatives and open interest - see live values on the exchange page. BitMart is among the leading CEXs by number of listed assets (over 1700 coins). Platform trust score - 7 . Placeholders for derivatives and open interest are absent in the available data, so specific figures are not provided. Security and Incidents The storage architecture is based on the separation of hot and cold wallets (details not disclosed). For derivatives, a Risk Protection Fund covers losses during ADL (auto-deleveraging). On December 4-6, 2021, a hack of hot wallets on Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain occurred due to theft of private keys. Losses amounted to approximately $196 million - roughly two-thirds of the exchange's assets at the time. Withdrawals were suspended, with resumption beginning on December 7-8 (ETH/ERC-20 first). BitMart announced full compensation from its own reserves, but affected users reported delays and incomplete payments even five weeks later. A Forensic Bounty program (up to $58 million as of June 2026) is active for the recovery of stolen funds. On July 16, 2024, an outage was recorded due to a cloud provider shutdown. Regular scheduled maintenance for chain updates (e.g., BASE hard fork on May 29, 2026) are standard procedures. Proof-of-Reserves: BitMart states it is preparing to publish a PoR report (as of May 23, 2026), but the third-party auditor and methodology have not yet been disclosed. In March 2025, a portion of hot wallet addresses for BTC, ETH, and BSC was published. The placeholder $2.08M is not used - no data is available in the accessible placeholders. Related Individuals Sheldon Xia (founder, Group President since April 2025) - MBA from Columbia Business School, studied at Stevens Institute of Technology, Hangzhou Dianzi University, B.S. in Computer Science from Brooklyn College. Became interested in Bitcoin during his student years; in 2013, attended a conference in Hangzhou where he met CZ ( Binance ) and Star Xu ( OKX ). In 2014-2015, created a website for automated digital currency trading. Founded BitMart in 2017, leading it to a top-10 global ranking by 2020. Launched the Mission X program for voting on listings. Since 2021, Founding Partner of Cipholio Ventures. Nenter (Nathan) Chow (Global CEO since April 2025) - graduate of Ross School of Business (University of Michigan), 17 years in investment banking: JP Morgan (Director), MUFG (Deputy Head of DCM and Fixed Income Trading for the Americas). Partner at Animoca Ventures, focusing on Web3 infrastructure and DeFi (investments in Monad, TON). Started investing in cryptocurrencies in 2016, left traditional finance for Web3 in 2022. At BitMart, responsible for international expansion and operational leadership. Operating company - bachi.tech (Cayman Islands). Parent structures and other owners are not disclosed. Related funds: Fenbushi Capital, Alexander Capital Ventures, Alpha Square Group, Care Bear, Chaos Ventures, Kube VC (round participants). Potential Expansion of US presence through the fully licensed BitMart US platform, including the launch of CFTC-regulated prediction markets (2026). Launch of BitMart IPOPrime (June 2026) - tokenized shares in funds (e.g., bSPCX, linked to SpaceX stock) for qualified investors. BitMart Travel (August 2025) - a booking service with cryptocurrency payment. Product expansion in the Asia-Pacific region following the Australian AFSL license. Application for a Hong Kong VATP license. Growth of the institutional segment: OTC desk, qualified custody solution, API incentives for HFT traders. Development of Pre-Market and Launchpad as tools for attracting new projects. Potential for integration with TradFi through the Visa card. Risks [Identified by Finkonkurs AI analytics system] Regulatory risks: uncertainty in the EU post-MiCA (lack of a full CASP license as of July 2026); FTC investigation from 2022 (the agency's first crypto case, which may be revived); lack of a license in New York. Security history: hack of ~$196 million in 2021 with compensation delays; unconfirmed data leak of 1.2 million users (July 2025). Lack of a publicly audited Proof-of-Reserves as of Aug 3, 2026 ; criticism for insufficient reserve transparency. Ownership concentration: close ties to the founder and a limited shareholder pool; information on majority stakes is not disclosed. Competitive pressure from market leaders ( Binance , Coinbase, Bybit , OKX) and new regulated platforms in Asia. Liquidity risks for the long tail of altcoins (over 1700 coins, frequent delistings). Leadership changes - April 2025 - have not yet demonstrated a long-term effect on operational stability.