Bankrupt Crypto Hedge Fund (3AC) Makes Surprise NFT Purchase After Three-Year Bid Oversight by Liquidators

The wallet, linked to the now-bankrupt Three Arrows Capital (3AC), recently made an unexpected NFT purchase. This seemingly out-of-the-blue transaction resulted from a bid placed three years ago that went unnoticed — or perhaps not “seen as retrievable” at the time — by the liquidators handling 3AC’s bankruptcy.

The Missed Bid

According to NFT marketplace SuperRare, the forgotten bid was for an NFT from the “Ninja Village” collection by the artist SeerLight that was discreetly submitted on Aug. 21, 2021, by 3AC wallet, a year prior to filing a Chapter 15 bankruptcy in July 2022. However, due to an oversight by Teneo—the company handling 3AC’s bankruptcy proceedings—the bid remained dormant until now.

3AC, on Friday, secured the NFT for 20 ETH (roughly $58,800 at current) from its previous anonymous owner, “@anonymoux.” This owner had bought it for 100 ETH (around $348,700 at that time) in October 2021. This information was found on SuperRare and equally confirmed by Etherscan, a blockchain explorer.

Additionally, on-chain analytics platform Arkham Intel identified the address used for the purchase as belonging to 3AC, which was first spotted by a community member named “@0xBriann,” per TheBlock’s report. 

Jean-Michel Pailhon of Grail Capital CIO and former Ledger executive replying @0xBriann on X said the ETH used by 3AC to place the bid was not “seen in the liquidation process as retrievable assets.”

3AC’s Bankruptcy Ordeal

Three Arrows Capital, a once-thriving Singaporean cryptocurrency hedge fund, is currently navigating through a bankruptcy file. At its zenith, 3AC managed assets worth an estimated $10 billion. However, the relentless bear market in cryptocurrencies took a toll owing to Terra’s ecosystem collapse in May of that same year, leaving the firm with a debt of around $3.5 billion to its creditors.

Post-bankruptcy filing, the NFT auction of 3AC’s collection fetched $2.5 million. Among the pieces sold, the highest sale was for Tyler Hobbs’ Fidenza #725, which went for a cool $1 million. The funds raised from the auction will likely go towards settling the firm’s substantial debts.

Kyle Davies, co-founder of 3AC, reacted to the auction results on Twitter, indicating that the portfolio was “on fire.” His fellow co-founder, Su Zhu, quoted English poet Alfred Tennyson in response to the sale, suggesting a sense of loss.
3AC’s co-founders Kyle Davies and Su Zhu have been on the Singaporean government’s radar ever since, with Zhu arrested and detained for over three months in September last year for failing to cooperate with investigations related to 3AC’s liquidation, while Davies remained at large from the city-state.