Thailand SEC to probe Zipmex over unregistered earn products

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand is investigating Zipmex to ascertain if its earn products breached regulatory rules.

According to a Bloomberg News report, Thailand’s SEC sent a letter to Zipmex on Dec. 28 stating that the ZipUp and ZipUP+ products were in violation of the digital-asset business rules.

Zipmex allowed its customers to earn returns for holding their assets in the ZipUp and ZipUp+ earn products.

Due to the nature of Zipmex’s earn products, the SEC alleged that the exchange was unduly operating as a fund manager.

“The company could have been operating as a digital-asset fund manager without permission,” the SEC said.

The SEC has urged Zipmex to come forward to clarify its status on or before Jan. 12.

The SEC’s investigation is coming barely a month after it was reported that venture capital firm V Ventures would proceed to acquire the exchange for $100 million.

Zipmex’s battle with SEC

In an earlier investigation, the SEC accused Zipmex CEO Eklarp Yimwilai of failing to submit comprehensive information about how it managed customers’ assets.

Back in July 2022, Zipmex halted withdrawals due to insolvency concerns. The SEC moved to probe the exchange and requested access to transaction records and wallets used to hold customers’ assets.

In response, Zipmex claimed it was treading with caution in submitting the documents as its parent company ‘Zipmex Pte. Ltd’ is not under the regulatory jurisdiction of Thailand’s SEC.

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