Crypto Exchange Zipmex Halts Withdrawals, Citing ‘Partners’

Zipmex, a cryptocurrency exchange operating in markets like Singapore and Thailand, said it halted withdrawals as a series of defaults continues to haunt the digital-assets industry. 

on Wednesday, the company cited “volatile market conditions, and the resulting financial difficulties of our key business partners” as reasons for its decision. Zipmex Chief Executive Officer Marcus Lim didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Zipmex joins crypto firms from Celsius Network Ltd. to Vauld in suspending withdrawals, leaving depositors in the lurch and underscoring the perils of leveraged bets permeating the industry. Vauld, a crypto lending and trading platform based in Singapore, is trying to stave off collapse by seeking relief from courts and selling itself to a rival. 

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Zipmex has a license for digital asset trading from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand, according to its website. In Singapore, the exchange holds an exempted payment service provider permit, rather than a full license under the central bank’s new regime for cryptoasset firms.

The exchange was launched in September 2019 and is based in Singapore and Thailand, according to its website. The company’s native ZMT token has tumbled about 90% from its all-time high, CoinGecko data shows. 

Among its products is ZipUp+, an account that pays yields as high as 10% on deposits of tokens like Bitcoin, Ether and Litecoin. However, Zipmex warns on its website that prospective users aren’t protected, as the company isn’t licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. 

“This means that you will not be able to recover all the money or DPTs you paid to Zipmex if Zipmex’s business fails,” a notice on the website says, referring to digital payment tokens.