AscendEX halts operations amid fears of withdrawal delays due to low liquidity

Cryptocurrency exchange AscendEX has officially announced it is ceasing operations, citing the impact of a worsening market environment and the implementation of the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation. However, shortly after the announcement, prominent on-chain analyst ZachXBT pointed out that the exchange's hot wallets have insufficient liquidity to process all verified customer withdrawal requests, which amount to millions of dollars. This has heightened concerns among affected users that their assets may be trapped. Analysts and industry insiders are advising users to immediately report the situation to law enforcement and financial regulators in their respective jurisdictions to prevent further losses and hold co-founder George Cao legally accountable.