Thai Crypto Exchange Zipmex’s $100 million bailout stumbles like a lost payment

Beleaguered crypto exchange Zipmex’s $100 million bailout is in jeopardy as the exchange has not received its final payment due on March 23.

The exchange was slated to receive $1.25 million on Thursday as part of the $100 million acquisition deal with V Ventures, a subsidiary of Thoresen Thai Agencies Pcl.

However, Zipmex has yet to receive the final payment, Bloomberg reported, citing a letter from the company.

In the letter, Zipmex said it has received no hint of “when and if” the final payment will be made, and said it is working with its advisers on next steps.

The exchange said it has the necessary cash to pay staff salaries at its branches in Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia.

However, it would have to start liquidation proceedings for one unit, Zipmex Technology Co., and suspend that division’s payroll unless it gets the money.

According to the letter, Zipmex has received three tranches of funding.

Established in 2018, Zipmex offers crypto trading and investment services in Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Australia.

The Asian crypto exchange announced last summer that it was halting withdrawals due to volatile market conditions. The platform faced a liquidity crisis following exposure to troubled crypto lender Babel Finance.

“Due to a combination of circumstances beyond our control, including volatile market conditions, and the resulting financial difficulties of our key business partners, in order to maintain the integrity of our platform, we will pause withdrawals until further notice,” the exchange said. so on Twitter at the time.

Last August, Bloomberg reported that Zipmex plans to meet with potential investors and Thailand’s financial regulator to discuss a recovery plan.

In November, the platform was in advanced discussions with the venture capital fund V Ventures about the sale of a majority stake.

Earlier this year, the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission said it was investigating whether Zipmex violated local rules in its offering of certain digital asset products.

2022 saw high-profile crypto firms collapse

Aside from Zipmex, a number of other major crypto companies also collapsed last year amid a broader market downturn that started with the implosion of the Terra ecosystem.

The fallout of Terra’s decentralized stablecoin UST led to a series of bankruptcies, including the implosion of major crypto lenders like Celsius and BlockFi, and even the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

The crypto meltdown even spilled into the mainstream banking system, taking down crypto-friendly bank Silvergate, which announced earlier this month that it has decided to wind down its operations and liquidate its subsidiary.

After Silvergate, two other banks, including Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, both of which had some exposure to crypto firms, also announced their closure.