Zipmex, a Singapore-based digital assets exchange, has successfully raised US$41 million in a Series B funding round with participation from Krungsri Finnovate, a subsidiary of Bank of Ayudhya (BAY), Thailand's fifth largest bank, and major multimedia companies Plan B Media and Master Ad.
BAY, which is part of Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, is one of the first banks globally, and the first in Southeast Asia, to invest in a digital asset platform, said Akalarp Yimwilai, chief executive and co-founder of Zipmex Thailand.
With the fresh injection of capital, Zipmex plans to further develop its technological infrastructure, engage in new business partnerships, attract new talent, and diversify its offerings.
In the short term, the new financing will help Zipmex double its users to one million in the next six months, said Zipmex's chief executive Marcus Lim.
Over half of Zipmex's businesses are in Thailand with about a fifth in Indonesia. It also has a generous base of users in Singapore and Australia, where it plans further expansion, Mr Lim said.
Mr Akalarp described Zipmex as more than just a digital asset exchange. It currently has ZMT as a token issued by the company, and there are other products such as ZipUp, a digital asset deposit program that offers daily bonuses of up to 8%, and ZipLock, a digital asset fixed deposit program that offers bonuses of up to 14% for ZMT token holders.
In early August 2021, the company announced its newest product, the Zipmex Card, a new payment card that will be launched later this year with Visa, allowing customers to pay for goods and services from over 70 million merchants by using digital assets under Visa's global payment network.
The deal will give BAY greater exposure to blockchain and the digital asset ecosystem, said Krungsri Finnovate managing director Sam Tansakul.
"We have been interested in the digital asset business and have studied the feasibility of investing in digital assets for a long time. While researching, we found that Zipmex is not only a cryptocurrency exchange, but also an issuer of many digital products with an expansive network in many countries such as Singapore, Indonesia, Australia and Thailand," said Mr Sam.
Mr Sam said Krungsri Finnovate was a venture capital firm invested in start-ups. In the past the company had invested in Coinbase, and now the latter was a fast-growing company listed on Nasdaq.
"We think Zipmex has very good growth potential as a digital platform. The company is expected to steadily grow over the next 3-5 years," said Mr Sam.