Thai investors in digital assets with the Zipmex cryptocurrency exchange have threatened to gather in front of the office of Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday, to seek answers regarding their investments in Zipmex Thailand.
The threat came after SEC Secretary-General Ruenvadee Suwanmongkol offered an explanation via Facebook Live on Friday about the Zipmex troubles. Numerous investors have expressed disagreement with the way the SEC has been handling this issue.
Ruenvadee claimed that the SEC was unaware that Zipmex, Thailand’s second largest cryptocurrency exchange after Bitkup, had used digital assets deposited by its investors to invest in ZipUp+, until Zipmex announced the suspension of withdrawals by its investors on July 20th.
ZipUp+ is a Zipmex Global (Singapore) product, which offers high yields to investors who deposit digital assets, such as Bitcoin, USD Coin, Tether and Ethereum.
She said that the SEC ordered Zipmex to explain its investment in ZipUp+ on July 25th, but that it has not has not heard back from the company and will summon its executives for a meeting at the SEC.
Ruenvadee also said that the SEC has coordinated with the Department of Special Investigation, the Economic Crime Suppression Division and Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau regarding possible legal action against Zipmex.
She offered an assurance that the SEC will try to convince Zipmex to provide refunds to its investors.
Zipmex announced, on July 25th via Facebook Live, that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with interested parties to commence a due diligence process. It added that the timeline of the investment plan will be made public once there is more clarity about the deal.
Akalarp Yimwilai, Zipmex co-founder and CEO, also said that Zipmex has been working hard to rectify the situation.
Zipmex Thailand also has operations in Singapore, Australia and Indonesia. Its financial problems stem from its financial product called ZipUp+, which is linked to two troubled crypto lenders, Babel Finance and Celsius.
Zipmex’s exposure to Babel Finance is about 1.7 billion baht and 183 million to Celsius. Babel has suspended withdrawals, due to financial difficulties, and Celsius has filed for bankruptcy protection.
Zipmex Singapore filed for bankruptcy protection in Singapore on Friday.
