WuBlockchain
Centralized exchange AscendEX said it ceased operations on July 1, 2026, leaving accounts accessible only for limited exit purposes. All withdrawal requests now require manual review and may be delayed, require extra documentation, or fail outright.
The shutdown landed the same day on-chain investigator ZachXBT warned that AscendEX was facing multiple reports of delayed or unprocessed withdrawals and that its public hot wallets appeared to lack major assets including ETH, USDT and SOL. The timing sharpens the read: a venue that publicly cannot move user funds, captured at the moment an independent researcher calls out the reserve gap.
Why it matters
AscendEX, formerly BitMax, was founded in 2018 by George Cao and Ariel Ling and once ranked among the top-10 centralized exchanges by trading volume. The venue raised a $50 million Series B in 2021 led by Polychain Capital and Hack VC, and was linked to a roughly $78 million Lazarus Group exploit in December 2021. A blue-chip venture backing list and a previous state-grade hack now sit behind a withdrawal freeze.
Market impact
The closure adds another name to the 2025–2026 CEX casualty list and tightens the bid for liquidity on surviving venues as users race to rehome balances. Watch whether manual reviews start clearing, whether a formal wind-down or restructuring filing follows, and whether the prior Lazarus-linked exposure resurfaces as the post-mortem unfolds.
Frequently asked questions
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Why did AscendEX stop operations on July 1, 2026?
AscendEX said it ceased operations on July 1, 2026, leaving accounts open only for limited exit purposes. Withdrawals now require manual review and may be delayed, require extra documentation, or fail outright.
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What did ZachXBT say about AscendEX before the shutdown?
On-chain investigator ZachXBT warned that AscendEX was facing multiple reports of delayed or unprocessed withdrawals and that its public hot wallets appeared to lack major assets including ETH, USDT and SOL.
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Who founded AscendEX and when?
AscendEX, formerly BitMax, was founded in 2018 by George Cao and Ariel Ling. Cao holds a PhD in computer science from the University of Chicago.
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How much did AscendEX raise and from whom?
AscendEX raised a $50 million Series B in 2021 led by Polychain Capital and Hack VC. The exchange once ranked among the top-10 centralized venues by trading volume.
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Was AscendEX previously hacked?
Yes. AscendEX was linked to a roughly $78 million exploit in December 2021 that has been tied to North Korea's Lazarus Group. The exchange never fully recovered its standing in the CEX rankings after that incident.
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