Who unzipped their lips? Last March, we covered Singapore-headquartered digital asset platform, Zipmex's $52M Series B. Now, we hear that US crypto giant, Coinbase is set to make a strategic investment in Zipmex— after dropping plans to acquire the company. 🤯

• Zipmex is a crypto trading and investment (DeFi) platform.
• Zipmex raised $41M in September 2021 and $11M in March 2022 for their Series B.

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👀 The backstory

The two were in talks for Coinbase to acquire Zipmex, but Coinbase has allegedly settled on joining in on Zipmex's Series B+ funding round.

• The term sheet committing to the investment was signed in March.

What they say. Zipmex has confirmed they're in the process of raising a Series B+ round but shared that they haven't finalized lead investors or valuation.

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😬 Holdin' onto the coin

Acquisitions are expensive, and Coinbase seems to be cost-cutting. Coinbase had a net loss of $430M in Q1 this year, and their stock has sunk over 75% since their listing in April last year.

• More than just the crypto crash? Coinbase's rivals like FTX have done comparatively better, and competition is amping up.
• They've also started a hiring freeze and taking back job offers.

Coinbase has shared that while they're slowing hiring, they'll focus on "critical revenue-generating products" and invest in "strategic and venture projects." (Like a strategic investment in Zipmex? 🤔)