Zipmex Thailand halts deposits and trading while pursuing regulatory compliance

Zipmex Thailand, one of the leading crypto exchanges in the country, recently suspended all new deposits and trading on the platform. According to the company, it needs to adhere to the regulations of the country’s securities regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Zipmex Thailand halts services, withdrawals to continue for two more months

The announcement was made on the exchange’s Facebook page, where the platform indicated that withdrawals will continue to work without interruptions for the next two months, until January 31, 2024. After that, a regular withdrawal process will be halted as well, and anyone seeking to withdraw funds will have to contact the exchange’s customer support and ask for assistance.

Zipmex’s statement stated: “Dear customers, Zipmex Limited would like to ensure the proper and compliant conduct of the company’s business operations in accordance with the criteria set by Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Therefore, it is necessary for the company to temporarily suspend digital asset trading and deposit of all types, effective from Nov 25, 2023, at 1 pm onwards.”

Zipmex is actually an exchange headquartered in Singapore, not Thailand. However, it operates in Thailand, as well as Indonesia and Australia. However, the platform recently encountered regulatory scrutiny by the Thai SEC, which accused it of improper use of a digital asset custodian service.

Furthermore, Zipmex Thailand was accused of directing its users to a Singapore-based Zipmex Pte, rather than the local platform that should adhere to the local regulations. As such, the SEC saw this as a conflict of interest.

The exchange also struggled with repaying its creditors after suffering losses tied to Babel Finance and Genesis, two major crypto lenders. Some relief initially presented itself in a $100 million buyout deal, but unfortunately for the platform, the deal fell through earlier in 2023 when the buyer, V Ventures, decided to back out of it.

Thailand SEC’s investigation of Zipmex

The platform was also investigated by the Thailand SEC back in January of this year, which had long suspected that Zipmex might be violating some of the local rules. The exchange was given a one-day deadline to confirm or deny whether it operated as a digital asset fund manager. The problem is that the platform never received proper authorization to operate as one.

The Thai SEC’s scrutiny of Zipmex is not new  — in fact, it has been an issue for months now. The regulator filed a police report against the exchange back in September of last year, which also included its co-founder, Akalarp Yimwilai, claiming that both the platform and its co-founder failed to comply with Thailand’s laws.

The SEC claimed that the exchange could not provide the required information regarding digital wallets and crypto transactions, as mandated by the Digital Asset Act.