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3AC liquidators file motion to hold Kyle Davies in contempt

Civil sanctions against 3AC co-founder Kyle Davies include an award of attorneys’ fees and a $10,000 daily fine until he is in compliance with a subpoena.

Three Arrows Capital (3AC) co-founder Kyle Davies should be held in contempt of court for ignoring a subpoena connected to bankruptcy proceedings, June 14 court filings from 3AC’s liquidators show. According to the creditor's legal team, Davies is purposely delaying asset recovery from the former crypto hedge fund.

The civil sanctions against Davies for his contempt include an award of attorneys’ fees and a $10,000 daily fine until he is in compliance. The motion does not apply to Su Zhu, the fellow co-founder of the bankrupt hedge fund. Due to his Singaporean citizenship, Zhu is not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States courts, Cointelegraph learned from Teneo, the firm serving as liquidator in the case.

Screenshot of motion for holding Kyle Davies to be in civil contempt. Source: Teneo

On Jan. 5, Davies and Zhu were subpoenaed on Twitter for failing to engage in asset recovery after 3AC filed for Chapter 15 in July 2022. Since then, creditors have accused the founders of being “on the run” from the bankruptcy court.

The founders’ whereabouts and legal jurisdictions play a significant role in recovery challenges. For instance, liquidators had to obtain permission from Singapore and U.S. authorities to subpoena Davies and Zhu via digital channels.

“The founders of Three Arrows, Kyle Livingstone Davies and Su Zhu [...] have repeatedly defied their obligations to the Court and failed to cooperate with the Foreign Representatives’ efforts to marshal the assets of the Debtor," reads the document. A hearing on the motion should take place in the coming weeks.

According to the liquidators, instead of complying with subpoenas and information requests, the “founders have ignored their obligations, hidden their whereabouts, and instead spent their time creating, amongst other things, a new venture to trade claims in cryptocurrency bankruptcy cases."

The motion also asks the U.S. to seek personal jurisdiction on Davies, who is believed to be in Bali. “On this record, it cannot be clearer that the Court can — and should — exercise personal jurisdiction over Davies, hold him in willful contempt of court, and impose sanctions."

An auction for parts of 3AC’s nonfungible token collection held last month brought in $2.5 million. The firm reportedly owes creditors a total of $3.5 billion. During its peak, 3AC’s estimated assets under management reached $10 billion.

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How crypto funds shape the development of the digital asset market

A look at the role played by crypto funds in providing essential capital and liquidity, propelling the growth and expansion of the crypto market.

A crypto fund is an investment fund that primarily focuses on investing in cryptocurrencies or digital assets. It allows investors to gain exposure to the crypto market without having to purchase individual coins or tokens themselves. Instead, these funds pool money from multiple investors to purchase various cryptocurrencies, often including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and other popular tokens.

Crypto funds can also be categorized based on their investment strategies. For instance, some funds may invest exclusively in Bitcoin, while others may invest in a diverse range of cryptocurrencies or focus on investing in tokens that have promising underlying technology or are backed by established companies. Additionally, some funds invest in crypto-related companies like mining or trading firms.

Investors in crypto funds may include high-net-worth individuals, family offices, institutional investors and retail investors. Some crypto funds may have minimum investment requirements, while others may be open to smaller investors.

Rachid Ajaja, founder of decentralized finance (DeFi) platform AllianceBlock, told Cointelegraph, “Crypto funds are an important element of the crypto ecosystem. First and foremost, they provide stability for selected projects to continue building, no matter their market conditions.”

“They’re usually composed of industry veterans, so they know what trends to invest in to drive the most value for the sector. Their levels of investment and capital mean they can offer a more comprehensive level of risk management that otherwise could not be cultivated by individual traders.”

Crypto funds face unique risks, including the volatility of the crypto market, the potential for hacking or fraud, and regulatory uncertainty. To mitigate these risks, crypto funds may use various risk management strategies, such as diversification, hedging or holding cash reserves. Crypto funds are investment vehicles that expose investors to the crypto market.

How crypto funds shape the market

Crypto funds play a significant role in shaping the crypto market’s development. They are investment vehicles that expose investors to the crypto market by pooling money from multiple investors and using it to purchase a diverse range of cryptocurrencies. Crypto funds can be structured differently and employ various investment strategies and risk management techniques.

For example, the Asia-based crypto fund HashKey Capital is an institutional asset manager investing exclusively in blockchain technology and digital assets and has managed over $1 billion in client assets. Other notable crypto funds include a16z (Andreessen Horowitz), with over $4.5 billion in management; Polychain Capital, with $2 billion in management; and Coinbase Ventures, with a $6.6 billion portfolio.

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One of the primary ways crypto funds impact the market is by providing liquidity. They facilitate the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies, hence raising trade volumes and dampening volatility, both of which attract institutional investors. Additionally, crypto funds can drive demand for cryptocurrencies as they invest in these assets and help to create positive sentiment around them.

Deng Chao, CEO of digital asset investment group HashKey, told Cointelegraph, “Crypto funds can impact market liquidity in many ways. Firstly, by helping projects to scale and grow, crypto funds help take projects to a level where they have enough users and network effects to have more liquidity. Typically, better network effects equal better velocity, which equals more liquidity in the market.”

Chao continued, “Asset liquidity and VC investment are usually inversely related. VCs [venture capital firms] typically invest in illiquid startups with the hope that their growth will turn those investments into liquid assets. This is a form of liquidity/time arbitrage. Crypto VCs will handhold their portfolio projects until they have sufficient size and credibility so that other players — such as a corporation, private equity or crypto exchanges — can step in and provide additional liquidity.”

Ajaja added that funds can “create new efficiencies in the market. For example, Jump Trading influenced tighter bid-ask spreads and efficient price discovery and participated in arbitrage, making smaller price discrepancies across exchanges.”

“When funds trade derivatives and similar instruments on major platforms like BitMEX and Deribit or participate in DeFi platforms like Aave and Compound, the entire market’s liquidity rises for the tokens traded and adds to the market stability, which benefits everyone,” he said.

Crypto fund industry by assets under management in millions of U.S. dollars. Source: CryptoFundResearch

Crypto funds can also encourage innovation in the crypto market. By investing in tokens with promising underlying technology, they can support the development of new projects and technologies, ultimately benefiting the entire crypto ecosystem.

Another way crypto funds impact the market is by providing access to smaller investors. By pooling money from multiple investors, crypto funds can provide access to the crypto market for smaller investors who may not have the resources or expertise to invest in individual cryptocurrencies. This can help democratize crypto market access and increase its overall reach.

Finally, crypto funds can shape the regulatory landscape around cryptocurrencies. As they become more prevalent, they can help create a more structured regulatory framework for the market, increasing investor confidence and attracting more institutional investors.

Current legal challenges for crypto funds

Crypto funds face a range of regulatory challenges that stem from the unique characteristics of cryptocurrencies and the lack of a consistent regulatory framework across jurisdictions.

Many countries have yet to define a clear regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, and those that have done so often have different and sometimes conflicting regulations. This can make it difficult for crypto funds to navigate the regulatory landscape and comply with local laws.

Ajaja said, “The main challenges faced by these crypto funds revolve around maintaining compliance in an ever-changing environment. It takes a proactive, concerted effort to ensure consistent compliance and active participation with these governing bodies that make the rules.”

“This relationship with the regulators is necessary to ensure that participation rules contribute to a growing, thriving crypto economy. These funds must focus on compliance with MiCA Regulation and FATF rules, even though it will create higher operational costs and more complex business processes. This regulatory environment is ever-changing, shifting with financial and political winds. Any funds should be approached with proactive and cooperative compliance with key bodies.”

However, compliance can be difficult for crypto funds due to the pseudonymous nature of cryptocurrencies. Funds may need to implement additional measures, such as blockchain analysis tools, to ensure they don’t fall afoul of regulations.

Chao noted, “Crypto-related technologies evolve at an extremely fast pace. Innovation in the crypto space always outpaces regulations. This ends up being a challenge from the regulatory perspective. However, regulators will sooner or later catch up and might regulate it a few years later in a friendly or hostile manner. Saying this, funds need to carefully consider how future regulations might look and how regulations might impact the market.”

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The tax treatment of crypto assets is another area of uncertainty for crypto funds. Different jurisdictions may have different tax treatments for cryptocurrencies, which can create compliance challenges for funds operating in multiple countries. Additionally, the taxation of crypto assets may be subject to change as regulators and tax authorities grapple with emerging technology.

Crypto funds play a crucial role in shaping the crypto market’s development. They provide liquidity, drive demand, encourage innovation, professionalize the market, provide access to smaller investors, and shape the regulatory landscape. As the crypto market evolves, crypto funds will likely become even more important in determining its future direction.

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3AC founders run into fresh trouble in Dubai over new exchange OPNX

Dubai’s digital asset regulator claimed it had sent two cease and desist notices to the exchange in February and an investor alert against it in April.

The co-founders of failed crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) — Su Zhu and Kyle Davies — have run into fresh trouble over operating and promoting their new digital-asset platform, Open Exchange or OPNX, without the required local license in Dubai.

According to a report published in Bloomberg, Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) sent a written notice to Zhu and Davies along with two other OPNX executives. In a statement to Bloomberg, VARA said it is still investigating the exchange’s activities and reportedly assured corrective measures would be taken against the firm for violating laws.

The regulator reportedly claimed that OPNX had been engaged in marketing the exchange in the country through social media platforms without establishing warranted restrictions for residents of Dubai and the United Arab Emirates. VARA first discovered the exchange in February through its marketing advertisements to lure customers even before it launched.

The latest written reprimand from VARA comes after two cease-and-desist notices from the authorities in February and March. VARA said that despite the notices, they didn’t hear back from OPNX and issued an “investor and marketplace alert” against the exchange just days after its launch on April 4.

OPNX’s launch and its association with the former founders of 3AC has been a talking point in the crypto industry. The crypto community was baffled to see Zhu and Davies promoting and raising funds for a new venture, even though they are under investigation for the downfall of 3AC.

Zhu and Davies have distanced themselves from any further association with OPNX, reportedly telling Bloomberg that “while Kyle and I helped contribute the initial ideas for OPNX, Leslie is very much the CEO and we aren’t involved in the day-to-day.”

Related: OPNX quips about its early dismal volume after reporting 90,000% surge

OPNX’s association with the former 3AC founders has not helped its fundraising efforts. On April 24, OPNX CEO Leslie Lamb blasted several venture capital firms on Twitter after some reportedly backed out of the venture. The exchange earlier claimed that it was backed by the likes of AppWorks, Susquehanna International Group, DRW Venture Capital, MIAX Group, China Merchants Bank International and Token Bay Capital.

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Crypto news site The Block gets new CEO and reported staff layoffs following admitted ties to SBF

The Block reportedly laid off roughly 33% of its staff including interim CEO Bobby Moran in an effort to stabilize the platform following loans it received from Sam Bankman-Fried.

Larry Cermak, vice president of research at The Block, has announced that he will be taking the reins at the crypto and blockchain news website from interim chief executive officer Bobby Moran — the second change in leadership since reports surfaced that former CEO Mike McCaffrey financed the platform through loans from Alameda Research. 

In a March 31 tweet, Cermak said he would be stepping up as CEO after roughly five years at the crypto news site. Axios also reported that The Block laid off roughly 33% of its staff — including Moran — in an effort to stabilize the platform following the controversial loans it received from former FTX and Alameda Research founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

"We are not immune to the contraction of the crypto market, and the economy more broadly," the company reportedly said. "We grew too quickly to capitalize on a bull market in crypto. Now, we must shift our strategy and recalibrate our teams to align with the reality of the current market."

In December 2022, Moran revealed that McCaffrey had used two loans totaling $27 million from Alameda in 2021 in his efforts to restructure the crypto news site. McCaffrey failed to disclose the loans to The Block’s leadership team, a move which led to his resignation as CEO. The Block’s editor-at-large Frank Chaparro, who previously referred to McCaffrey as “literal scum” who betrayed the platform’s staff, lauded Cermak’s advancement to CEO, saying the site was “returning to our crypto native roots”.

Cermak reportedly said he had received no direction from McCaffrey to cover stories about FTX or Bankman-Fried “in any particular way,” despite the platform’s financial ties. All of the news stories on the website include a disclaimer with details about the loans from SBF.

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Since FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Nov. 11, many news outlets, lawmakers, and organizations reported financials ties to the defunct crypto exchange or directly to Bankman-Fried. The firm’s leadership announced in February that it planned to recover all political donations, reporting in March a research team had determined there had been roughly $25 million as of November 2022.

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Transform Ventures launches holding company for blockchain with $100M AUM

Transform Ventures was founded by Michael Terpin, a crypto investor who previously sued a New York teenager for $71.4 million in damages for allegedly snatching cryptocurrency from his phone.

Transform Ventures has co-invested in a new holding company in what it states is an effort to accelerate blockchain investment and innovation. Alpha Transform Holdings (ATH) aims to support the blockchain ecosystem through investments via two new funds.

ATH was created by merging select assets from Transform Ventures and Alpha Sigma Capital’s parent company, which will include two funds amounting to $100 million in assets under management.

According to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph, the new assets include majority ownership in Content Syndicate, a Transform Ventures-backed content services company. Moreover, the investments will fund the creation of two funds: the Alpha Liquid digital asset fund and the Aegean Fund.

Transform Ventures was founded by Michael Terpin, a crypto investor who previously sued a New York teenager for $71.4 million in damages for allegedly snatching cryptocurrency from his phone. For ATH, Terpin invested $2.65 million in cash, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), with an option to invest an additional $2.9 million.

Speaking about the development, Enzo Villani, Alpha Transform Holding’s CEO and chief investment officer, stated:

“The ATH vision is to shepherd in a new era of financial and technological innovation leveraging decentralization, blockchain technology and Web3 infrastructure.”

The new holding company’s three focus areas include delivering suites of products under asset management, Alpha Transform products and Alpha Transform strategies.

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While major investors and venture capitalists continue to pour millions of dollars into blockchain innovation, some investors have started showing negative sentiment, leading to increased outflows.

Weekly crypto asset inflow and outflow data. Source: CoinShares

As Cointelegraph reported, based on CoinShares’ findings, “overall volumes across investment products were low at US$844m for the week,” with Bitcoin market volumes 15% lower than usual, averaging $57 billion.

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Crypto Biz: Coinbase has a lot at stake

Coinbase says its staking product offerings are different than Kraken's, which came under SEC scrutiny and resulted in a $30 million fine.

Crypto assets made their way onto the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s list of priorities for 2023. So far, though, we haven’t tasted the “regulatory certainty” many have been calling for. Instead, the regulator threw the book at Kraken for allegedly failing to register its staking program. Coinbase appears next on the chopping block, but its lawyers are ready to fight.

This week’s Crypto Biz newsletter delves into Coinbase’s defense of its staking program and its not-too-pleasant quarterly financials. We also look at the latest company to fall victim to Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX.

Coinbase beats Q4 earnings estimates amid falling transaction volume

Q4 was a rough quarter for the cryptocurrency market, and nowhere was this more evident than in Coinbase’s latest earnings report. On Feb. 21, the crypto exchange reported a 12% drop in transaction volumes during the quarter as revenues plummeted 57% year-on-year. Although the revenue figures were higher than expected, I wouldn’t put much stock in Wall Street’s projections. (If you set the bar low enough, anyone can “beat expectations.”) Nevertheless, there was a silver lining: Coinbase’s subscription and service revenues increased 34% during the quarter. However, investors should be aware that Coinbase is being probed by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its staking products. The exchange is attempting to put out the fire before it even starts (more on that below).

Coinbase staking ‘fundamentally different’ to Kraken’s — chief lawyer

With the SEC cracking down on Kraken over its staking products, other exchanges are trying to get ahead of the curve to avoid similar repercussions. This week, Coinbase’s chief legal officer Paul Grewal told shareholders that the exchange’s staking products “are fundamentally different from the yield products described in the reinforcement action against Kraken.” According to Grewal, Coinbase users always retain ownership of their digital assets. Secondly, users have a “right to the return,” which means Coinbase can’t unilaterally decide not to pay any rewards for staking. The SEC filed a complaint against Kraken alleging that the exchange’s users lose control of their tokens when participating in the staking program. Kraken settled with the SEC for $30 million.

Hedge fund closes operations after losing funds in FTX exchange: Report

The crypto market felt FTX’s enduring legacy again this week after hedge fund Galois Capital reportedly shut its doors. Galois had sizable exposure to FTX when the exchange went bust in November 2022. According to the Financial Times, Galois’ co-founder Kevin Zhou has already penned a letter to investors apologizing for his firm’s involvement with FTX. Zhou also told investors they would receive 90% of Galois’ remaining assets, with the remaining 10% held at the firm temporarily. Like other FTX creditors, Galois is waiting for the bankruptcy process to begin — that process could take up to a decade to fully pan out.

Mastercard to allow crypto payments in Web3 via USDC settlements

Mastercard’s foray into the digital asset market continued this week after the payments giant disclosed a partnership with Web3 payment protocol Immersive. This means Mastercard users wishing to make a direct crypto payment will no longer rely on third parties — as long as they have a Web3 wallet. Real-time payments for digital and physical goods will be settled in USD Coin (USDC), a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin issued by Circle. Will this partnership be an important milestone in advancing the mainstream adoption of Web3 wallets, or will it be lost in the noise? Only time will tell. In the meantime, much more work is needed to educate people about Web3’s actual meaning.

Before you go: Beware of Bing AI chat and ChatGPT pump-and-dump tokens

ChatGPT has taken the world by storm in recent months. Now, scammers want to capitalize on this growing trend by launching a series of fake pump-and-dump tokens. Investors, beware! In this week’s Market Report, Marcel Pechman and I dissect the recent explosion in pump-and-dump tokens and share a few words of wisdom on how to stay safe. We also give you the latest pulse of the cryptocurrency market and whether Bitcoin is bullish or bearish. You can watch the full replay below.

Crypto Biz is your weekly pulse of the business behind blockchain and crypto, delivered directly to your inbox every Thursday.

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Defunct Crypto Hedge Fund Three Arrows Capital Founders Seek $25 Million to Start New Exchange Amid Scrutiny

Defunct Crypto Hedge Fund Three Arrows Capital Founders Seek  Million to Start New Exchange Amid ScrutinyAccording to reports, the founders of the now-defunct crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) are seeking to raise $25 million from investors to start a new crypto exchange called GTX. This solicitation for new capital comes after 3AC co-founders Su Zhu and Kyle Davies were subpoenaed over the social media platform Twitter. Pitch Deck […]

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Three Arrows Capital creditors express frustration with bankruptcy process during call

3AC co-founder Kyle Davies announceed regular meetings with creditors, noting all involved parties are welcome to attend.

Kyle Davies, the co-founder of bankrupt hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC), disclosed in a Twitter thread that the first meeting of 3AC creditors was held on Jan. 11. Davies invited all creditors to join the group and announced that it would meet regularly.

According to Davies, creditors continue to express frustration with the ongoing costs and handling of assets in the bankruptcy process, suggesting that, "inter creditor disputes are delaying the process, and the estate value is not being maximized."

The group discussed several topics, including ways to reduce "ongoing legal costs, pursue claims on a contingency basis against Luna consortium/FTX/Genesis, and organize better ways to deal with asset sales/distributions." 

This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.

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Gemini Co-Founder Accuses Digital Currency Group of Misrepresentation, Demands CEO Resignation

Gemini Co-Founder Accuses Digital Currency Group of Misrepresentation, Demands CEO ResignationGemini CEO Cameron Winklevoss has published another open letter on Twitter, addressed to the board members of Digital Currency Group (DCG). In the letter, Winklevoss accuses DCG and CEO Barry Silbert of making poor decisions with the now-defunct crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC), and claims that DCG orchestrated a “campaign of lies” in […]

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