Zipmex Crypto Exchange Freezes User Funds, Thai SEC Immediately Steps In

Zipmex crypto exchange stops user withdrawals. (CryptoNewsZ)

JAKARTA – The decline in the crypto market in recent months has shaken the stability of cryptocurrency trading companies. One of those affected is the Zipmex crypto exchange.

Last week, crypto trading platform Bitmex was reported to have suspended user funds on its platform. In this case, the user cannot withdraw their funds from the crypto exchange. Bitmex operates in Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, and Australia.

As a result of stopping the withdrawal of funds by the company, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand (SEC) intervened. The SEC is concerned about the potential loss of user funds after the company stops withdrawing funds due to volatile market conditions.

To anticipate this possibility, the Thai SEC launched an online forum for Zipmex users. On Monday, July 26, the Thai SEC announced that it had cooperated with the authorities to collect data from Zipmex users. The effort was aimed at finding out whether customers were affected by the company's decision to stop withdrawing user funds.

Therefore, the SEC encourages affected investors to provide their information via the online forum on the official Thai SEC website.

"To make it easier for those affected, the SEC has prepared a form to fill out information/facts to assess the impact leading to the complaint process so that it can be forwarded to the relevant agencies", the regulator's announcement reads.

For information, last week Zipmex stopped withdrawing user funds due to extreme crypto market conditions and the company's financial problems related to its business partners, Babel Finance and Celsius.

The SEC has written to Zipmex. The regulator urged the company to disclose the reasons for stopping the withdrawal of user funds on its platform. Previously, the SEC received complaints and complaints from investors regarding these conditions.

Luckily, Zipmex is still open for communication. They revealed that Zipmex had exposure to lenders Babel Finance of US$48 million (approximately IDR 719 billion) and Celsius worth US$5 million (IDR 75 billion), according to a CryptoPotato report.

Zipmex is currently in talks with Babel Finance to resolve the issue. As with Celsius, the exchange intends to write off the exposure as “uncollectible” or bad debt, given that the amounts involved are “minimal” and crypto lender Celsius is already bankrupt.

At the same time, Zipmex is reportedly in the middle of striking a potential deal with one of the biggest crypto companies. Even so, it is not yet known whether the agreement is related to a possible acquisition of the company or not.