AscendEX shut with empty hot wallets the week EU crypto rules arrived

AscendEX — launched as BitMax in 2018, rebranded in 2021 — ceased all operations on 1 July 2026, the day the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation took full effect without the exchange holding authorisation. Its notice gave three causes: a counterparty failed to perform on a strategic transaction meant to provide liquidity, broader market conditions added pressure, and the regulatory position was untenable. New accounts, deposits, trading, swaps, staking and lending all stopped at once.

Nine days earlier, on-chain investigator ZachXBT had documented a near-total absence of major assets — Ethereum, USDT, USDC and Solana — from the exchange's known hot wallets, after users reported withdrawals delayed for days or weeks. From 6 July every withdrawal moved to manual review, and AscendEX said it was 'not in a position to give assurances about timing or amounts', with formal insolvency proceedings possible. The same exchange had survived a $78 million hot-wallet hack in 2021 by reimbursing users; this time no full recovery was promised.

Customers were told to file reports with regulators and law enforcement in their own countries. The shutdown was measured not by a disclosed number but by a queue: the difference between a suspension and a collapse is whether the books ever reopen.