Customers withdrawals of funds due to volatile market conditions were halted by the Singaporean currency exchange Zipmex on Wednesday. The firm bills itself as Asia's leading digital assets exchange, based mainly in Singapore, Australia, Indonesia and Thailand.
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Due to a combination of circumstances beyond our control, including volatile market conditions, and the resulting financial difficulties of our key business partners, we will be announcing that we will be suspending withdrawals until further notice, according to Zipmex.
Financial contagion stemming from its exposure to Babel Finance and Celsius Network, beleaguered criptocurrency lenders that are undergoing financial restructuring after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, was one of the main factors.
Customer security was the number one priority for the company, and it said that trading on its platform would remain disabled until further notice. In the last 24 hours, CoinMarketCap has logged $6.9 million worth of trading volume on the platform.
The move surprised industry players as they announced expansion plans for its Southeast Asian market and even planned to add Vietnam to its list of countries. In March, Zipmex had raised $52 million in Series B funding.
Nearly one-quarter of Thailand's total revenue in the market, serves almost 1.7 million investors, as a key player in Southeast Asia's criptocurrency landscape.
The partnership with Polygon Studios was expected to bring in more new customers, and the company recently waded into the Asian metaverse.
Customers who deposit funds can get up to 10% in rewards each year, with Zipmex offering 10% returns on USDC stablecoins and 6% onBitcoin.