TL;DR:
Special situations firm Echo Base has formed a BitMart claimholder group to coordinate the recovery of locked funds following the platform’s operational shutdown. The initiative comes after the exchange’s management failed to formally respond to a capital injection designed to sponsor an orderly bankruptcy proceeding.
The move brings together institutional and retail users impacted by the platform’s suspension of withdrawals.
According to the official statement issued by Echo Base on September 2, 2026, the initial proposal delivered on August 6 offered up to $10 million to cover administrative and legal expenses during a court-supervised process. The firm’s technical documentation maintains that this financing sought to maximize recovery rates for withheld balances compared to a disorderly liquidation scenario.
On August 8, an affiliate of Echo Base filed a formal lawsuit demanding the release of funds requested on July 24—approximately 31 hours before the exchange announced the cessation of its commercial activities. The filing documented 15 prior communication attempts without receiving an institutional response. The committee’s legal position notes that, pursuant to the terms of BitMart’s user agreement, title to deposited crypto assets is not legally transferred to the depository company.
The ad hoc committee retained law firms Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP and Ashbury Legal PC to lead the legal strategy. In parallel, firms such as Sonn Law Group opened independent investigations focused on clients holding balances in excess of $500,000.
In its proposal, Echo Base suggests that managing a liability of this magnitude requires years of technical administration. Echo Base CEO Roshan Dharia stated that the viability of a consensual wind-down plan diminishes as time passes without a formal operational response. Dharia explained that the company would lack the operational staffing capacity beyond January 2027 to execute an orderly wind-down on its own.
BitMart published its last update on August 21, 2026, via social media, where it mentioned the development of a framework for the phased resumption of certain operations. In that announcement, management pledged to present a definitive roadmap alongside its advisors no later than September 9, 2026, a date that will mark the next key milestone in the proceedings.
