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Troubled crypto exchange Zipmex slated August 11 and August 16 for the release of just 0.08 Ethereum and 0.0045 Bitcoin, respectively, after halting withdrawals in July, the firm’s announcement read.
“We remain committed to complete transfers of all customers’ assets in a gradual manner and to accelerating all actions to resume the full service of Z Wallet,” according to the announcement.
On July 20, Zipmex halted withdrawals from the platform, citing financial roadblocks due to its exposure to Babel Finance and Celsius. Both firms have been at the center of the industry’s recent liquidity crisis.
Following a restructuring plan, Zipmex has been preparing to work with customers and regulators to ensure funds are returned.
These plans came into fruition last week when the exchange announced withdrawals for various altcoins, including Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA) and Ripple (XRP).
“We are working to ensure that we are in full compliance as we start to release some of these tokens into your Trade Wallet starting in the middle of August,” said Zipmex, announcing the release of the above-mentioned altcoins on August 2.
Zipmex and crypto’s liquidity crisis
Zipmex had exposure in the amount of $48 million in Babel Finance and $5 million in Celsius.
Funds from Zipmex’s ZipUp+ interest-bearing accounts, called ZipUp+, had been deposited into Celsius. Then, Celsius paused withdrawals across the platform, including accounts linked to Zipmex, on June 13 and filed for bankruptcy the following day.
Zipmex, officially unable to withdraw funds from Celsius, “wrote off this deposit and absorbed it through our own balance sheet.”
These problems were aggravated by similar liquidity issues that plagued Babel Finance.
“In order to prevent short-term market volatility due to what were, at the time, inaccurate and emerging reports on Zipmex’s exposure to Babel Finance, Zipmex took the decision to temporarily halt transfers between the Z Wallet and the Trade Wallet,” Zipmex reported last week.
Editor's Note: This article has been updated on August 22, 2022, at 5:00 am ET to show that Zipmex only allowed some withdrawals from accounts rather than full account withdrawals.