BitMart

Is BitMart safe?

BitMart is an offshore exchange that handled one big crisis well and has not built much trust since. It repaid users after a hot-walletHot walletA crypto wallet connected to the internet, such as an app or an exchange's online wallet. It is convenient, but more exposed to hacking.More in the glossary hack in December 2021, which is better than many hacked exchanges managed. But almost five years later it still publishes no proof of reservesProof of reservesA report in which a crypto exchange shows that it holds enough coins to cover all customer balances, ideally checked by an outside firm.More in the glossary, it has no licence in a strict jurisdiction, and in August 2026 the Cayman Islands regulator told the public to be careful with false claims about BitMart's status there. We score it 35/100, just below Poloniex and under LBank and MEXC.

What happened in the December 2021 hack

On 4 December 2021 BitMart found that one of its Ethereum hot walletsHot walletA crypto wallet connected to the internet, such as an app or an exchange's online wallet. It is convenient, but more exposed to hacking.More in the glossary and one of its BNB Chain hot wallets had been emptied. It first put the loss at about $150 million and two days later said the cause was "a stolen private key". PeckShield, a blockchain security firm, estimated the total at close to $200 million.

BitMart said it would "use our own funding to cover the incident and compensate affected users", talked to token projects about swaps, and reopened deposits and withdrawals network by network from 7 December, replacing all deposit addresses. Repaying in full keeps security history at 60, the bottom of the band for a hack made good. A single stolen key draining two wallets of that size points to weak hot-wallet controls.

No proof of reserves, five years on

Most large exchanges started publishing Merkle-treeMerkle treeA way to combine many records into one short code, so that each person can check their own record is included without seeing anyone else's.More in the glossary reserve reports after FTX collapsed in November 2022. BitMart has not. A notice first posted in 2023 and updated in March 2025 said it was "working on" one and listed four hot-walletHot walletA crypto wallet connected to the internet, such as an app or an exchange's online wallet. It is convenient, but more exposed to hacking.More in the glossary addresses, adding that these are only part of its wallets.

In May 2026 complaints spread that users could not withdraw. BitMart's statement of 23 May said its risk system had restricted 239 linked accounts that were farming trading rewards, that other users were unaffected, and that it would publish a proof of reservesProof of reservesA report in which a crypto exchange shows that it holds enough coins to cover all customer balances, ideally checked by an outside firm.More in the glossary "at an appropriate time". As of this review we have not found one. Without it, or audited accounts, there is no way to check that customer coins are fully backed.

Who runs BitMart and where is it licensed?

The user agreement names GBM Global Inc., registered in Majuro, Marshall Islands, as the operator, with Cayman Islands law governing disputes and binding arbitration. It refuses customers from New York, France, the Netherlands, Hong Kong and sanctioned regions, so most US states and most of the EU can sign up.

The CIMA notice is a warning, not a fine. It followed several complaints about references to BitMart's "purported regulation" in Cayman, and it names BitMart Exchange, GBM Global Inc. and seven related companies.

How BitMart holds your coins

Section 2.7.4 of the agreement lets BitMart keep customer coins in shared blockchain addresses that also hold its own assets. It keeps separate ledgers, but says it has no obligation to give you a segregated address. The agreement also says there is no FDICDeposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary or SIPC protection, and we found no insurance fund or bankruptcy protection for customer assets. In an insolvency, your claim would rest on BitMart's internal records.

How to limit your risk on BitMart

1. Treat BitMart as a place to trade, not to store coins. Withdraw to your own wallet when you are done.
2. Use an authenticator app or security key and a withdrawal address allowlist; turn off SMS as a login factor.
3. Do not rely on "Savings" or staking yields; they add BitMart's own credit risk, and US users are excluded.
4. Watch for the promised proof of reservesProof of reservesA report in which a crypto exchange shows that it holds enough coins to cover all customer balances, ideally checked by an outside firm.More in the glossary. A report that counts liabilities would be the clearest improvement.
5. If you want the same tokens on a licensed platform, compare Kraken or a regulated exchange in your country.

How we scored it

Reserves (15) and licensing (15) are the weakest factors: nothing published to check backing, and no licence in a strict market. Security history (60) is the strongest, because BitMart covered its 2021 loss. Custody (25) reflects pooled addresses with no insurance, and the legal record (50) the Cayman warning rather than any fine.