Zipmex CEO Marcus Lim is under scrutiny by investors and shareholders, some of whom are calling for his resignation.
They allege mismanagement is the reason for the exchange, whose ties to embattled lender Babel Finance caused a liquidity crunch, resulting in the pausing of withdrawals in July 2022.
Earlier today, a Singaporean court granted the exchange a three-month reprieve from debt obligations, protecting the firm from lawsuits until Dec. 2, 2022. The firm had initially sought a five-month reprieve to allow restructuring.
Its financial woes stem partly from exposure to Babel Finance, a crypto lending platform that halted withdrawals in mid-June 2022. Babel hired the law firm Kirkland & Ellis and an investment bank to aid in its restructuring.
It is up to the board, Lim says
Calls for Lim’s resignation reportedly came from one of Zipmex’s largest shareholders. When asked about this, Lim said the fate of executive positions is up to the board and shareholders. Lim noted that any changes would follow the resolution of the exchange’s immediate problems. He added that a recovery plan was the essential item on the management team’s agenda. It is not clear whether multiple shareholders are unhappy with Lim’s management.
On Aug. 2022, Zipmex announced that it would allow XRP, ADA, and SOL withdrawals over one week. On Aug. 7, 2022, the company announced a partial resumption of bitcoin and ether from Aug. 11, 2022, to Aug. 16, 2022, as the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission ordered the company’s Thai branch to unfreeze customer assets. Sixty percent of users will have access to five coins by Aug. 16, 2022.
Whether the remaining 40% can withdraw funds depends on whether Zipmex can raise more capital. Unnamed sources told Bloomberg that they would only invest money in the platform if Lim resigned. The company’s website indicates that interested investors are going over the company’s financials.
Zipmex joins Vauld in moratorium land
While the judge granted Zipmex a moratorium from creditors, he said that a creditors committee must be created to engage creditors in a town hall.
Another crypto company Vauld was granted a three-month moratorium from a Singaporean judge to protect it from creditors as it considers a potential acquisition with lender Nexo.
Two significant events contributing to the liquidity crunch at lenders Celsius Network, Voyager Digital, Babel Finance, and Zipmex were the collapse of the TerraUSD stablecoin in May 2022 and the implosion of Three Arrows Capital. This Singaporean hedge fund has since filed for bankruptcy.
Zipmex has a digital asset trading license from the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission and has a presence in Australia and Indonesia.
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