BitMart founder says security team ‘severely understaffed’ after new hack
The crypto exchange’s founder warned of security staffing shortages amid restructuring as analysts flagged suspicious transfers potentially linked to the Mercado Bitcoin hack.
BitMart’s founder, Sheldon Xia, disclosed on Wednesday that the exchange’s security team is significantly understaffed due to restructuring efforts. The revelation came after the discovery of a new hack that may be connected to the recent Mercado Bitcoin attack. In a post on X, Xia explained that threats against employees and alleged retaliation from former staff have complicated the process of retaining key technical personnel.
Despite the challenges, Xia assured that the exchange is doing everything possible to safeguard data and assets. Following the incident, blockchain analytics firm Bitquery identified approximately $391,000 in suspicious transfers from wallets associated with BitMart across three blockchains. This sum was traced back to a wallet implicated in the $46 million Mercado Bitcoin hack.
The latest breach comes amid uncertainty over BitMart’s future, which has been in flux since the exchange announced in July its plans to end trading on August 26 and cease operations by January 2027.
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