Zipmex, the digital asset platform, has suspended all baht and cryptocurrency withdrawals from its wallet, citing a “combination of circumstances” beyond its control, including market fluctuations and issues with trading partners.
Through its Facebook account, Zipmex Thailand, the company apologized for the incident and said the decision intended to maintain platform stability.
According to the statement, the withdrawal suspension responded to “market fluctuations, incidents in the industry and financial problems of main business partners which are beyond the company’s control.”
The Securities and Exchange Commission ordered Zipmex to clarify the matter to protect its clients and to comply with related laws.
Zipmex Thailand’s chief executive and co-founder Akalarp Yimwilai also addressed the public via a message on the company’s official Facebook account, saying that the move was linked to its ZipUp+ product, as it has been compromised.
Mr. Akalarp stated that Zipmex Global in Singapore and its business partners had liquidity problems, referring to Babel Finance and Celsius. It left Thai ZipUp+ users vulnerable.
Only digital assets on the ZipUp+ platform were frozen, but the liquidity loss’ extent will be clarified later, he added.
Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, USDC, and other major digital assets were affected. Transfers between Zipmex “Z Wallet” and commercial wallets are currently suspended.
However, customers were still allowed to deposit and withdraw digital assets and baht from their wallets after the platform reopened on Wednesday, the company’s chief executive and co-founder said.
Mr. Akalarp revealed that Zipmex Thailand planned to file class action lawsuits against Zipmex Global and its business partners, hoping to recover digital assets for customers.
In the meantime, the company has started working to attract large firms to invest in Zipmex, promising to spend profits on rebates for all users. He urged all those affected to join the legal action against Zipmex Global.
Before the funds were frozen, a source close to the exchange explained that Zipmex could be in trouble, as it has a license in Thailand but an exception status in Singapore.
“Under the Thai License, they are strictly not allowed to touch customer funds. However, Zipmex has a product on the exchange called zip-up that effectively lets users move funds under the Singapore entity to earn yield,” the source commented.
The insider claimed that the company gave funds to Babel to generate yield. However, the Hong Kong-based assets manager is at risk of default and halted withdrawals due to “usual liquidity pressures.”
The comments came after a purchase agreement by Coinbase was backed out. However, Exchange CEO Marcus Lim ruled out that the company had faced financial problems, saying it “doesn’t comment on rumors” just minutes before the platform’s withdrawals were paused.
