Zipmex, Southeast Asia’s crypto platform, has invested in Forward, a Thai-based fintech firm specializing in DeFi Derivatives Trading in a bid to increase operational potential for Zipmex.

The investment, made by Zipmex Labs, a unit under Zipmex Group, is part of a series of investments aimed at promoting and supporting blockchain projects and entrepreneurs looking to transform the crypto ecosystem through innovative business ideas, Zipmex said in a statement on Tuesday.

Previously, Zipmex Labs has invested in projects like Tokenplace and Yieldly.

“This investment reinforces our industry leadership. We are continuously aiding growth in the digital asset industry to help realize our innovative potential for Zipmex. That’s why we are delighted to be part of laying a solid foundation and helping to speed up developments in decentralized finance, with the best benefits for our users being the ultimate end goal,” Zipmex Group Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Marcus Lim.

“Every day, the derivatives digital asset market is gaining momentum in driving the global economy. It’s an excellent tool for hedging and maintaining investor wealth. This investment extends our global network of alliances and brings us a step closer to becoming a leading Thai tech company,” Chanon Jaratsuttikul, CEO and Co-Founder of Forward Holdings said.

Forward, now valued at 1.6 billion baht, or $50 million, has raised more than 160 million baht in seed rounds, or $5 million in pre-Series A funding from investment firm Genesis Block Ventures Capital and the global blockchain VC firm Varys Capital.

Thai VC companies Primestreet Capital and Thailand’s largest real estate firm Ratanakorn Asset Co. Ltd were also funders.

Zipmex said it is Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing digital assets platform with a focus on building the foundation
of Asia’s financial architecture to empower everyone to experience the digital assets world.

The company’s Thai subsidiary has a Digital Assets Exchange license and Brokerage license issued by the Ministry of
Finance of Thailand, and is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company has offices across Southeast Asia: Singapore, Australia and Indonesia.

Forward is a decentralized finance platform on EVM based chain offering three main services, the decentralized derivative exchange (exchange), lending and borrowing pools (LBPs) and NFT for Trading.

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