Crypto Exchange Zipmex To Get $100 Million Venture Capital Buyout

Embattled Asian cryptocurrency exchange Zipmex Asia Pte. is poised to be acquired by a venture capital fund for about $100 million in digital coins and cash.

Crypto exchange Zipmex to get $100 million venture capital buyout. (AFP)

Embattled Asian cryptocurrency exchange Zipmex Asia Pte. is poised to be acquired by a venture capital fund for about $100 million in digital coins and cash, one of the first rescues in Asia since a wave of defaults ripped through the sector.

V Ventures, a subsidiary of Thoresen Thai Agencies Pcl, is offering $30 million in cash and the remainder in crypto tokens, said a person familiar with the matter. A share sale agreement detailing the deal terms was presented, according to a court hearing on Friday in Singapore, which did not identify the buyer.

The fund is set to acquire about 90% in Zipmex, the person said, asking not to be named as the information about the buyer isn't public. The crypto received from the deal will be used to gradually unlock Zipmex customers' frozen wallets by early April, according to the court hearing, after withdrawals were suspended in the wake of a crypto rout.

A spokesperson at Zipmex declined to comment “given the current sensitivities.” V Ventures didn't respond to an email seeking comments. Chalermchai Mahagitsiri, a general partner at V Ventures, declined to comment when reached by phone and asked if the firm has reached a deal to buy Zipmex.

Zipmex, which has operations in Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and Australia, has been under restructuring after it was granted protection from creditors in Singapore in August.