Three Arrows Capital Defaulted on a $670M Debt

One of the most well-known crypto hedge funds, Three Arrows Capital, has defaulted on a $670 million debt. Voyager Digital, a digital asset brokerage, announced on Monday that the fund had defaulted on a $350 million USDC and 15,250 bitcoin loan, valued around $323 million at today’s rates.

In the wake of weeks of turbulence in the cryptocurrency market, 3AC is facing a financial constraint that could lead to bankruptcy. In the previous 24 hours, both bitcoin and ether have fallen marginally, although both are still considerably below their all-time highs. In the meantime, the total crypto market cap is roughly $950 billion, down from around $3 trillion in November 2021 at its high.

In a statement, Voyager stated that it wants to pursue 3AC recovery (Three Arrows Capital). Customers’ orders and withdrawals are still being processed, despite the broker’s statement that the platform has been shut down. It’s possible that the assurance is an attempt to tamp down fears of a wider crypto environment spreading the disease.

Voyager CEO Stephen Ehrlich said, “We are working diligently and expeditiously to strengthen our balance sheet and pursuing options so we can continue to meet customer liquidity demands.” According to Voyager, it has $137 million in US currency and crypto assets as of Friday. In addition, Alameda Ventures has provided the company with a $318 million (or 15,000 bitcoins) revolver, worth $200 million in cash and USDC.

Sam Bankman-Fried, the creator of FXTrade, has invested $500 million in the crypto brokerage Voyager Digital. 75 million dollars of its credit line have already been drained by Voyager. 3AC’s default “does not cause a default in the agreement with Alameda,” according to the statement. 3AC did not respond to a request for comment from CNBC right away.

What brought 3AC to this point?

Zhu Su and Kyle Davies started Three Arrows Capital in 2012. One of Zhu’s most well-known traits is his belief that bitcoin will continue to rise in value. Last year, he predicted that the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency might be worth $2.5 million per coin, according to his calculations at the time. Zhu’s “supercycle price thesis” was, however, proven to be incorrect in May of this year, when the crypto market began its downward spiral.

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The so-called “crypto winter” has taken a toll on digital currency initiatives and businesses of all kinds. This month, Zhu tweeted that the company was in the midst of “communicating with relevant parties” and “totally committed to sorting this out,” which sparked the company’s troubles. There was no further investigation into the nature of the problems.

After the tweet, the Financial Times reported, citing persons familiar with the subject, that US-based crypto lenders BlockFi and Genesis had liquidated some of 3AC’s positions. While 3AC had borrowed money from BlockFi in order to pay the margin call, they were unable to do so.

To avoid a loss on a trade done with borrowed money, an investor must put more money into the account. There were two tokens that had been touted as “algorithmic stablecoins”: TerraUSD and Luna. 3AC’s exposure to Luna resulted in financial losses. Founder of 3AC, Davies, told the Wall Street Journal, “The Terra-Luna scenario caught us very much off a surprise.

Because of the ongoing downward pressure on bitcoin prices, Three Arrows Capital is still in a credit crunch. On Monday, Bitcoin was trading about $21,000, a loss of about 53% from its year-to-date high. As a result of rising inflationary pressures, the Federal Reserve in the United States has suggested that it will raise interest rates in the near future.

According to Forbes, 3AC, one of the world’s leading digital asset hedge funds, borrowed enormous amounts of money and invested in numerous digital asset ventures. Fears of a further industry-wide outbreak have been prompted by this.

As a result of the market fall, a number of crypto businesses have already experienced liquidity issues. As a result of “extreme market conditions,” Celsius, a loan service that promised customers significant returns for depositing their digital currency, has put an end to customer withdrawals. Babel Finance, another crypto lender, announced this month that it has blocked withdrawals due to “unusual liquidity pressures.”

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