BitMart Hacked Again Ahead of Shutdown, Founder Says Security Team Severely Understaffed

Crypto exchange BitMart was hacked as it moves toward shutting down operations. Founder Sheldon Xia said the company has struggled to retain key technical staff during restructuring and that its security team is severely understaffed.

Cointelegraph reported on November 4 that Xia wrote on X it took significant effort to persuade some core technical employees to stay. He added that the security team is facing a severe staffing shortage, though the company is doing its best to protect data and assets. Threats against employees and suspected retaliation by former staff also made retention more difficult, he wrote.

The hack occurred on November 3. Xia said the damage was limited but did not disclose the exact loss. Blockchain analytics firm Bitquery said it detected suspicious transactions worth about $391,000 from BitMart-linked wallets across three blockchains.

Bitquery said the wallet used in the attack appears linked to the hack of Brazilian exchange Mercado Bitcoin. Losses in that case are estimated at about $46 million. Xia also suggested the two incidents may be connected.

BitMart said in July that it would cease operations in January 2027. Since then, it has faced withdrawal delays and account freezes. More recently, it proposed three user-protection measures in a restructuring plan, including the distribution of liquid assets and the issuance of recovery-linked tokens. It plans to seek court approval in December or January 2027.