Once the exchange exits and thunderstorms, can users really get their money back In the past week, the cryptocurrency market has received two somewhat unseemly "farewell letters" consecutively. On July 23rd, BitMEX @ BitMEX, a well-established derivatives exchange that has been in operation for over 11 years, announced that it will officially shut down on September 23rd, 2026. Just three days later, BitMart @ BitMartExchange also announced an orderly exit process: immediate cessation of recharge and new orders, cessation of all trading on August 26, and official end of platform operations on January 31, 2027. BitMEX once invented a 100 fold leveraged perpetual contract, and BitMart shows that there is still about $1.6 billion in daily trading volume. They are not a deserted 'zombie platform', but they chose to retire at this time. After the announcement, BitMart platform coin BMX plummeted by about 58% in a single day. Of course, there is a fundamental difference between quitting and dealing with thunderstorms or bankruptcy, and it does not necessarily mean that users have already incurred losses. But once the exchange enters the shutdown phase, the most important issue is not whether the announcement is written decently, but rather: Can the numbers in the user's original account ultimately be credited to their wallet? ⬇️ We have compiled several typical cases of cryptocurrency exchange exits/defaults using a table. one ⃣ BitMart: Entering shutdown phase, withdrawal window is not unlimited Based on current information, BitMart is taking an "active exit" route. Bitmart requires users to close their positions, redeem their wealth management products, and withdraw as soon as possible. Accounts that have not been processed in a timely manner will enter the subsequent special process. Partial withdrawals may also require additional identification, funding sources, transaction records, and proof of wallet control. This means that BitMart users are still in a relatively favorable stage: the platform has not entered bankruptcy proceedings, and the withdrawal channel has not been fully closed. However, during the shutdown period, there will be an increase in centralized applications and manual reviews, and the uncertainty in the future will also rise over time. So to determine whether BitMart can exit smoothly, we should not only look at the platform balance, but also at two results: ·Whether withdrawal generates effective on chain transactions; ·Whether the assets have reached the user's own controlled wallet. two ⃣ Mt. Gox: It can be retrieved, but it may take more than a decade Mt. Gox went bankrupt in 2014, making it one of the longest cases in the history of exchange liquidation. After the Japanese civil regeneration process, some creditors will receive BTC, BCH, and cash starting from 2024. Choose creditors who make early one-time payments, with a recovery ratio of approximately 21% of the recognized debt value. The overall repayment has not yet ended, and the latest deadline has been extended to October 31, 2026. Mt. Gox's experience shows that entering the formal judicial process does not mean losing everything, but the cost can be more than ten years of waiting. The only gratifying thing is that some creditors have received BTC that has multiplied several times after experiencing "passive lock-in". But the bad news is that they did not retrieve all of their original BTC. three ⃣ FTX: 'Compensation 100%', but Chinese users are still passive As the largest and most famous exchange lightning case, FTX has significantly higher clearing efficiency than Mt. Gox. As of March 2026, the cumulative distribution ratio of multiple types of debt has approached or reached 100%, and the distribution ratio of small convenience debt has reached 120%. But here, 100% refers to the US dollar debt confirmed by the court. The assets held by users, such as BTC and ETH, are converted into US dollars based on the price on the bankruptcy filing date of November 2022. Even if encrypted assets rise significantly afterwards, creditors will not receive the same amount of tokens as before. Assuming that the user held 1 BTC at the time and eventually retrieved the corresponding US dollar value from the bankruptcy date, it may already be considered a "full payment" in legal terms; However, based on the market value at the corresponding BTC peak, the actual recovery rate may be much lower than 100%. Moreover, approval of debt does not necessarily mean immediate receipt of funds. Correspondingly, users also need to complete KYC, tax forms, and registration with payment service providers. As of May 2026, mainland China and Macau are still on the list of allocated regions not supported by FTX, and corresponding payments can only be further postponed. four ⃣ Tiger Fu: From asset to debt currency, just changed its name After ceasing withdrawals in 2022, HuFu will convert user assets into internal debt assets such as HUSDT and IUSD, and propose plans such as installment exchange and debt to equity conversion. The HUSD displayed on the internal account is just a number. If a debt asset cannot be freely withdrawn, lacks external liquidity, and does not have a clear source of payment funds, then it is essentially just an accounting voucher for the platform's debts to users. Afterwards, the website and public communication channels of HuFu gradually became ineffective, and there was no credible data to prove that users had received large-scale external payments. The biggest confusion of this type of escape plan is that the numbers in the user's account may not have disappeared, but the funds are actually unusable. Whether compensation can be made depends entirely on whether the management of the exchange has a conscience behind it. five ⃣ JuCoin: The risk is not over yet JuCoin is currently not in the same stage as HuFu and FTX. JuCoin has not officially announced its closure or bankruptcy, and has stated that withdrawal services have been restored. However, JuCoin first restricted withdrawals on the grounds of group auditing and KYC, and later introduced JU asset packages, trading unlocking, position unlocking, and linking with listed company stocks. JuCoin claims to have over $510 million in reserves and a coverage rate of over 123%, but the encryption verification function on its reserve page is still not fully open. At the same time, the so-called JU asset package also requires users to continue holding or trading JU in order to gradually unlock it. At present, JuCoin lacks completely independent and sustainable audit results, and its risks have not been falsified: Whether it is possible to withdraw coins normally depends on the actual payment situation of different users; Whether the reserve data is reliable requires external verification; Asset packages that require trading or holding to unlock cannot be directly considered as redeemed. ⭐ Conclusion: The receiving result is the key In summary, to determine whether a user has truly retrieved their funds, only three things need to be considered: ·Did you retrieve the original currency, cash, or debt assets issued by the platform; ·Whether the funds have left the exchange; ·Does the user truly have control over this asset. For users of centralized exchanges, there is only one standard for true redemption: the asset has entered the wallet where they control the private key.