ECHO (ECHO): Echo Base Forms BitMart Claimholder Committee Over $10M Rescue Offer

Echo Base Forms BitMart Claimholder Committee

Echo Base, the special situations firm behind ECHO (ECHO), announced on Sept. 2 that it has assembled an ad hoc committee of BitMart claimholders, formalizing creditor efforts to recover assets frozen since the exchange's shutdown. The group — which Echo Base says represents a significant and growing aggregate balance of customer funds — retained two law firms, Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor and Ashbury Legal, to evaluate restructuring, regulatory and insolvency remedies. The firm did not disclose how many claimholders joined or the total value of their claims. The formation followed BitMart's failure to answer a written proposal Echo Base submitted on Aug. 6, offering up to $10 million to sponsor a pre-negotiated bankruptcy filing, with the capital earmarked for professional and administrative expenses through confirmation of a plan. Echo Base also detailed a dispute involving one of its affiliates, which requested a withdrawal on July 24 — roughly 31 hours before BitMart announced it would stop operations. That affiliate allegedly made 15 attempts to reach the exchange before delivering a formal demand on Aug. 8; Echo Base says BitMart neither executed the withdrawal nor identified any contractual or legal basis for withholding the assets, and the exchange has not publicly addressed that specific account. The committee is studying whether qualifying creditors could commence or join an involuntary U.S. insolvency proceeding, though no decision has been made and any petition would have to satisfy statutory requirements on creditor eligibility and claim amounts. Echo Base stresses the group is independently organized, not a statutory committee appointed within an existing bankruptcy case — because none exists. Its legal position, so far untested in court, is that BitMart's user agreement never transferred ownership of deposited assets to the exchange. Separately, the Sonn Law Group is investigating potential claims for customers frozen out of $500,000 or more.

BitMart's Silence and the Sept. 9 Deadline

BitMart's own disclosures frame the other side of the standoff. The exchange announced an orderly wind-down on July 26, suspending new registrations, deposits and fresh submissions across its order types before ending trading services on Aug. 26. It initially planned to cease platform operations on Jan. 31, 2027, with withdrawals remaining open, though BitMart warned that compliance reviews and heavy demand could delay processing. The closure news drove BMX, the exchange's native token, more than 60% lower within 24 hours, deepening its distance from its all-time high; BitMart attributed the decision to its operating conditions, the market environment and its future strategy. On Aug. 21 the company shifted course in an official statement posted to X, saying it was developing a potential restructuring plan as an alternative to full wind-down — one that may include phased resumption of selected business lines and creditor distributions following legal, financial, operational and regulatory assessments. White & Case was appointed as restructuring counsel, and BitMart pledged a further update by Sept. 9. Nothing has been published since, and that silence has amplified X speculation that funds were misappropriated — allegations the company has not addressed. Echo Base chief executive Roshan Dharia argues the delay itself narrows the options: running a balance sheet of this scale takes years, while BitMart has publicly committed to a process it cannot staff after January 2027. Outside a court process, he warns, there is no automatic stay, so a single claimant can stall proceedings for everyone while unreachable holders keep their claims open indefinitely. Echo Base, he said, has capital, infrastructure and expertise ready for a compliant, orderly liquidation — and every week without a response makes a workable solution harder. Readers tracking the market in real time can follow live spot and futures prices on Bybit.

official statement posted to Xhttps://x.com/BitMartExchange/status/2090781678528803238

Counterparty Risk Comes Due

In our reading, the dispute reduces to a single unresolved question — who owns the assets sitting on a failed exchange — and Sept. 9 is the date that forces an answer. If BitMart delivers a concrete roadmap, negotiations with the committee become plausible; if it misses its own deadline, an involuntary filing shifts from threat to likelihood. Either way, the case strengthens the argument for self-custody, whether through hardware options like the Tangem Mobile Wallet or the venue selection discipline set out in our Best Crypto Exchanges guide. Frozen balances are not market losses — they are counterparty risk crystallizing in real time.