Blockchain investigator ZachXBT is raising fresh alarms about AscendEX, the centralized exchange formerly known as Bitmax, warning that user withdrawals remain frozen while deposits continue to be accepted, a combination that has historically preceded some of the most damaging exchange collapses in the industry’s recent history.
AscendEX has not posted publicly on X in nine days since ZachXBT first flagged the situation, and the co-founder George (Jing) Cao has reportedly gone silent on user inquiries, including from at least one large-scale victim who has received no response across multiple attempts to raise concerns.
The investigator is now actively encouraging affected users to file reports with law enforcement and financial regulators in their respective countries, a step that signals his assessment of the situation has moved well beyond ordinary exchange operational issues.
A Nine-Day Silence and a Withdrawal Freeze
ZachXBT’s Telegram channel details the core concern plainly. AscendEX has not posted on X in nine days since his original post, user withdrawals are still not being processed, and deposits are still being accepted. That asymmetry between what the exchange takes in and what it allows users to take out is a pattern that experienced on-chain analysts treat as one of the clearest early warning signs of a liquidity problem or worse.
ZachXBT also reviewed a specific case involving a large victim who has been unable to get any response from AscendEX co-founder George (Jing) Cao despite making repeated attempts to raise their concerns directly. For a company co-founder to go completely dark on user inquiries at the same time withdrawals are frozen and the exchange’s social media presence has gone silent creates a picture that is difficult to read charitably. ZachXBT’s advice to affected users is direct: do not wait for a response from the exchange, file a report with law enforcement and with crypto regulators in your country immediately.
What the On-Chain Data Reveals About Reserves
ZachXBT’s earlier post from June 26th laid out the technical findings that first triggered his public warning. After observing multiple user reports of withdrawals being delayed for days or weeks, he reviewed AscendEX’s known hot wallets using Arkham Intelligence and TRM Labs. What he found was a reserve profile that appeared to lack meaningful holdings of large-cap tokens including ETH, USDT, and SOL, the exact assets users are most likely trying to withdraw.
When an exchange’s hot wallets show minimal holdings of the major liquid assets that make up the bulk of user deposits, it suggests the exchange either cannot meet withdrawal requests or is deliberately delaying them to manage a liquidity gap. Neither scenario is reassuring. The absence of large-cap token reserves doesn’t prove insolvency on its own, but it is precisely the kind of on-chain signal that preceded high-profile exchange failures that left users unable to recover their funds.
AscendEX’s History Adds Context to the Current Concerns
AscendEX, operating under its original name Bitmax, was founded in 2018 by George (Jing) Cao and Ariel Ling. The exchange has a documented security history that is directly relevant to evaluating the current situation.
In December 2021, AscendEX was reportedly hacked by the Lazarus Group, the North Korean state-sponsored hacking collective, for approximately $78 million. That incident, one of the more significant exchange hacks of that period, already demonstrated that AscendEX’s security infrastructure had real vulnerabilities.
Whether the current withdrawal delays are connected to a fresh security event, an ongoing liquidity problem, or something else entirely remains unclear, but the exchange’s track record makes the silence from leadership considerably more alarming than it might otherwise be.
Self-Custody Is the Broader Lesson
The AscendEX situation is arriving at a moment when ZachXBT has also been advising crypto users more broadly about the importance of moving assets out of centralized exchanges and into self-custody wallets. The recommendation carries particular weight in the current environment, as new European regulations under the MiCA framework and related compliance requirements are increasing identity verification and operational demands on centralized crypto service providers operating across the EU.
Self-custody wallets give users direct control over their own private keys rather than trusting an exchange to hold funds on their behalf. While self-custody remains fully legal within the European Union and is not subject to any ban, regulated exchanges are increasingly applying additional compliance checks and information requirements for certain transfers as they adapt to the new regulatory framework. For users in Europe navigating this transition, the combination of tightening exchange requirements and the kind of operational failure now appearing at AscendEX reinforces why long-term crypto investors have historically treated self-custody not as an optional security upgrade but as a baseline practice.
What Affected Users Should Do Right Now
ZachXBT’s guidance for anyone with funds currently stuck at AscendEX is unambiguous: do not rely on the exchange’s silence eventually breaking in your favor. File a report with law enforcement in your country. Contact the financial regulator with jurisdiction over crypto service providers in your region. Document every withdrawal attempt, every unanswered communication, and every on-chain interaction with the exchange. The earlier that affected users formally report the situation to regulators and law enforcement, the stronger the collective record becomes if this escalates toward a formal investigation or recovery process.
The broader pattern ZachXBT is describing at AscendEX, withdrawals frozen, deposits accepted, co-founder unreachable, social media silent, and on-chain reserves light on major assets, is not a profile that has resolved well for users in previous cases. Getting ahead of it with formal reports is the most actionable step currently available to anyone caught in this situation.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services. Follow us on X @nulltxnews
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