Zipmex Granted Protection From Creditors For 3 Months

Embattled Asia-Pacific crypto exchange Zipmex has been granted protection from its creditors until December 2, with the Singapore High Court allowing it three months to come up with a funding and restructuring plan:

The moratorium amounts to half the period sought by Morgan Lewis Stamford, lawyers for Zipmex, who had applied for six months’ protection under Singapore’s insolvency law across the exchange’s outlets in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Australia after they abruptly suspended withdrawals last month.

Court Orders Town Hall Meeting for Creditors

According to a statement this week from Zipmex, the court also directed that the exchange convene a town hall-style meeting with its creditor and customer base within one month from the date of the court’s moratorium decision:

[At this meeting], it will minimally be explained what the proceedings in Singapore mean for creditors and customers, the state of proposed investments, the likelihood for the completeness of investors’ proposals and how serious they are, and when customers will be able to access their Z Wallets.

Zipmex statement, August 16

Last week, Zipmex announced its Z Wallet customers would be able to “partially withdraw” some of their Bitcoin and Ether holdings, naming August 11 and 16 as respective dates for releasing “a specific amount” of ether and bitcoin. These amounts turned out to be 0.08 ETH and 0.0045 BTC (about US$150 and US$110, respectively).

Earlier this month, Zipmex said it was “exploring multiple avenues” to secure funding, adding that it was expediting due diligence after signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with two investors.

CEO Pressured to Step Down

Meanwhile, Zipmex shareholders and potential investors have reportedly urged CEO Marcus Lim to step down over management decisions they believe led to Zipmex’s liquidity crisis:

Zipmex is not the only Singapore-based firm to secure a moratorium against its creditors. Crypto lender Vauld was granted a three-month protection order by the same court earlier this month after it, too, froze withdrawals without notice in July.