AscendEX (previously BitMax) Exchange Social Audit & Trust Score

AscendEX announced it will cease operations as of July 1 2026, saying user accounts will remain accessible only for limited withdrawal transactions with all withdrawal requests undergoing manual review meaning withdrawals may be delayed users may be asked for extra information or some requests may not be processed at all. 
The risk which shattered security trust was a hack in december 2021 exchange suffered a $78 million attack linked to the Lazarus Group creating a serious historical security breach.
So as it's shutting down sending asset in exchange account will cause loss of money and users should immediately withdraw funds as withdrawal process can take upto days.

AscendEX's own words are perhaps the biggest warning sign. In a July 6, 2026 notice, sent days after suspending operations, the exchange stated it was "not in a position to give assurances about timing or amounts" regarding customer fund recoveries. That's more than cautious legal language it acknowledges there is no guarantee users will recover their money. Before the announcement, blockchain investigator ZachXBT had also reported that AscendEX's hot wallets appeared to hold little ETH, USDT, or SOL, even as users complained of delayed withdrawals despite policies promising transaction IDs within two hours.   According to the exchange, the crisis was triggered by the lack of MiCA authorization after the EU regulatory framework took full effect, alongside the collapse of a planned strategic transaction intended to provide liquidity. This follows the $78 million Lazarus Group hack in 2021, meaning the platform has now faced both a major external security breach and a severe operational failure. AscendEX has further warned that if formal insolvency proceedings begin, they could override the current withdrawal process altogether. Anyone with funds on the platform should follow official regulator and insolvency updates closely and remain cautious of anyone requesting upfront fees to "recover" lost assets, as those are common scams after exchange failures.

AscendEX provides a great playground for finding small altcoins before they hit the massive Tier 1 platforms. The 1.5 billion dollar daily volume means the liquidity is real. The trading engine runs fast. But you can never ignore a 77 million dollar security failure. Keep a portion of your working capital here to hunt for new token listings or farm yields. Just do not use this unregulated platform as your primary cold storage vault.

AscendEX is a Singapore-based CEX launched in 2018 that targets global users with optional KYC for basic access. The platform offers a simple 3-step onboarding process with no deposit minimums, making it relatively beginner friendly. Overall usability is somewhat decent, but user feedback is mixed. Some users report lengthy or inconsistent KYC reviews, occasional fund locks during compliance checks and support that relies mostly on ticket systems without proper live chat feature. AscendEX also maintains an insurance fund that was introduced following the 2021 security incident, during which the exchange fully reimbursed all affected users using its own resources. However, there does not appear to be any publicly verifiable information available regarding the current size, structure or transparency of that insurance fund. Another weak point is reserve transparency. As of today, AscendEX still does not provide a fully public Merkle Tree-attested Proof of Reserves system. The most recent publicly available reserve-related information appears to be from a 2023 announcement that included wallet addresses rather than a complete independently verifiable PoR audit. https://ascendex.com/en/support/articles/89022-a-step-forward-in-transparency

AscendEX fully reimbursed all users after the 2021 $78M hack, but its 2025–2026 reputation remains very poor. Trustpilot averages 1.3/5, with frequent complaints of long-term account freezes, sudden withdrawal blocks, hidden inactivity fees that eat small balances, and unresponsive support. Reddit and other forums describe it as risky and unreliable. Users report unusually high withdrawal fees, such as 15 TRX for TRC20 USDT, far above typical rates on other exchanges. Overall, caution is advised, fees and support are good on paper but looks like not in fact... traders should verify conditions themselves before depositing crypto/fiat into AscendEX... https://www.trustpilot.com/review/ascendex.com

Their 2021 hot wallet hack is ancient history now with no fresh breaches popping up of recent. Users are telling a brutal stories about frozen accounts, insane withdrawal minimums after delistings, "inactivity fees" wiping small holdings, and support vanishing when funds are stuck classic offshore CEX traps that hit harder on smaller users. Persistent withdrawal freezes and account lock complaints scream too much risk

Users love the seamless feature to replicate pro trades with up to 100x leverage. Their withdrawal Issues consists of Intense frustration over high minimum limits and sudden account blocks during cash-out attempts. Another problem is delisting Disputes, Significant anger regarding coins being delisted with little notice, making funds hard to recover. Lastly Regulatory Concerns: Critics frequently warn about its lack of top-tier licensing and opaque "dormancy" fees.