AscendEX Shuts Down Amid Questions Over Hot-Wallet Funding Shortfall
Cryptocurrency exchange AscendEX was already under operational strain after failing to secure an EU Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license and losing as much as $78 million to North Korean hacking group Lazarus Group in 2021. The latest developments have raised concerns over the safety of customer funds, highlighting the regulatory and reserve pressures threatening smaller and midsize exchanges while dealing a severe blow to investor confidence.
AscendEX announced on July 6, 2026, that it had ceased all platform operations effective July 1 and switched withdrawals to manual review. In late June, prominent on-chain investigator ZachXBT revealed that major assets, including USDT and ETH, had been severely depleted in the exchange’s publicly disclosed hot wallets, leaving it unable to meet verified customer withdrawal requests worth millions of dollars. The disclosure quickly triggered panic withdrawals and a liquidity crisis.
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1 original reportsThe Backstory
The history behind this eventAscendEX Faces Mounting Withdrawal Delays
AscendEX is a centralized exchange offering services including cryptocurrency spot trading. Users’ ability to withdraw assets depends on whether the platform holds sufficient, readily accessible on-chain reserves. Delays involving major tokens such as ETH, USDT and SOL could undermine market confidence in the exchange’s liquidity and the safety of customer assets.
Several AscendEX users have recently reported withdrawal delays, prompting blockchain investigator ZachXBT to question whether the platform has sufficient ETH, USDT and SOL reserves and call for a prompt official explanation. Existing reports have not disclosed the amount affected, the exact date of the incident or the size of any reserve shortfall. AscendEX has also yet to provide complete, verifiable data.
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