SEC demands clear explanation from Zipmex on trade suspension
The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday demanded a clearer explanation from Zipmex Thailand following its two-hour suspension of service on Wednesday night.
The SEC said it had issued a letter on Wednesday demanding an explanation after Zipmex Thailand announced on its Facebook page that the withdrawal of both cryptocurrencies and baht could not be done from 6pm to 8pm.
The SEC said it had received a letter from Zipmex Thailand on Thursday, explaining the issue. However, the SEC said the explanation still lacked important information for the commission to consider.
“As a result, the SEC sent another letter to Zipmex asking for comprehensive details, including information on its customers’ digital assets,” the SEC said in a statement.
Zipmex Thailand CEO Akalarp Yimwilai has explained in a statement that his trading platform had to be suspended for two hours to disable the ZipUP+ product of its partner, Zipmex Global, after Zipmex Thailand’s customers could not withdraw money from Z Wallet of ZipUp+.
Akalarp said the suspension was needed to maintain the stability of the trading platform and to prevent more damage.
He said that Zipmex Global has deposited in Babel Finance and Celsius, who suffered a liquidity crunch, affecting the accounts of ZipUp+ via Zipmex Thailand in a chain reaction.
The SEC added in the statement that Zipmex Thailand must show evidence of depositing customers’ money via ZipUp in other platforms, especially Celsius and Babel Finance.
Akalarp denied that damage to its customers had amounted to 5 billion baht as reported by some online media but he declined to give an exact amount.
The SEC also added in the statement that Zipmex Thailand must provide trading service as normal and must provide a service for customers to call and file complaints about their damage. Zipmex Thailand must handle the complaints with efficiency, the SEC added in the statement.
Akalarp said in his statement that Zipmex Thailand is willing to organise a class action lawsuit against Zipmex Global, Celsius and Babel Finance for the return of money of its customers. Zipmex Thailand would shoulder the lawsuit fees, he added.
