Venture capitalists bail on Zipmex bailout, company warns of consequences: Report

V Venture, a subsidiary of a Thai shipping company, missed a payment on its $100 million buyout of the troubled crypto exchange.

Cryptocurrency exchange Zipmex has reportedly not received the latest payment under its buyout agreement with venture capital firm V Venture. The exchange has sent a letter to the firm warning that it will have to begin liquidating one of its units without that money.

The $1.25 million payment was intended to provide working capital for the Singapore-based exchange and was due March 23, according to a Bloomberg report. Zipmex said in a letter to V Venture that, without the cash infusion, it would have to begin liquidating its Zipmex Technology unit and suspend its payroll.

Salaries in Zipmex units in Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia were still covered, the letter added. Zipmex also has operations in Australia.

Related: Digital asset platform Zipmex partners with Visa in Asia-Pacific

The missed payment would be the fourth from V Venture, a subsidiary of Thai shipping company Thoresen Thai Agencies with offices in Thailand and the United States. Zipmex and V Venture reached a deal in December for the venture firm to buy the exchange after lengthy negotiations. 

Zipmex suspended withdrawals in July after a deal for its acquisition by Coinbase fell through. The exchange was experiencing liquidity issues due to its exposure to Babel Finance, which reportedly owed Zipmex $48 million and suspended withdrawals in June. Zipmex also had $5 million exposure to Celsius. In February, it proposed to investors to restore all withdrawals.

The rescue plan for embattled crypto exchange Zipmex is beginning to fray after the company failed to receive the most recent payment due under a $100 million venture capital buyout https://t.co/l6gDYpmO6I

— Bloomberg Asia (@BloombergAsia) March 24, 2023

Zipmex was granted three-month protection from creditors in August. The December V Venture deal triggered an investigation by the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission. It had run afoul of that agency in the past.

The Zipmex token fell from a high of $0.1029 on March 23 to $0.057 at the time of writing, according to CoinMarketCap.

Neither Zipmex nor V Venture replied immediately to a Cointelegraph request for comment.

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