Unchained

3AC's Kyle Davies on Why He's Crypto's Lloyd Blankfein and Why He's Not Sorry - Ep. 621

03.19.2024 - By Laura ShinPlay

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Few crypto figures have been as vilified as Kyle Davies, the co-founder, along with Su Zhu, of crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, which imploded in mid-2022, losing $3 billion and bringing many pillars of the crypto industry down with it. Davies and Zhu have been accused of, among other things, lying about 3AC’s assets as the firm was imploding, trying to borrow money when the firm was insolvent, and seeking funding from the Mafia, all of which Davies denies. 

But he remains unapologetic about 3AC’s demise, saying most, if not all, companies eventually go bankrupt, and that 3AC had a “pretty spectacular” ten-year run. He joined Unchained to explain why he and Su Zhu were ordered to prison in Singapore for non-compliance with the liquidation proceedings, Zhu’s “six weeks meditating” (in prison), where he’s living now, why he and Zhu went to Bali after the bankruptcy, his $25,000-a-month fee for consulting for crypto bankruptcy exchange OPNX, his and Zhu’s current work advising crypto derivatives platform OX.FUN, and what he wishes he would have done differently in terms of 3AC’s wind down. 

Show highlights:

Whether Kyle is cooperating with 3AC liquidator Teneo and his opinions of that firm

His and 3AC co-founder Su Zhu’s prison sentences in Singapore

Why Kyle says he didn’t know about the scheduled court date

Why Dubai levied fines against him, according to Kyle

Where he is living now

Whether or not he made misrepresentations about 3AC’s assets to lenders before its implosion, traded when the firm was insolvent, and borrowed money from the mafia

Why Kyle went to Bali after the bankruptcy 

His defense of his $25,000 a month fee for consulting for OPNX

Why Kyle thinks his reputation post-3AC was still “huge” because all companies eventually go bankrupt

Gamified derivatives platform OX.FUN, where he is an advisor

His dreams of opening a cloud kitchen chicken restaurant

Why he filed a lawsuit against Sixth Man Ventures’ Mike Dudas

What he could have done differently at the time of 3AC’s collapse

Why Kyle is not sorry 3AC went bankrupt 

Thank you to our sponsors!

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Guest

Kyle Davies, OX.FUN advisor and co-founder of Three Arrows Capital 

Links

Su Zhu’s Arrest

Unchained: Three Arrows Capital Cofounder Su Zhu Arrested in Singapore

3AC Founders’ Assets Frozen

CoinDesk: Court Freezes $1 Billion of Assets of Three Arrows Capital Founders

3AC Ventures

CoinDesk: Bankrupt Hedge Fund 3AC's Return as a VC Stirring Up Crypto Community

Davies and Su’s Post Bankruptcy Lives

New York Times: Their Crypto Company Collapsed. They Went to Bali

New York Magazine: ‘They Are Very Comfortable Lying’: How fallen crypto kingpins Su Zhu and Kyle Davies are dodging prison — and rebranding 

OPNX

Wall Street Journal: Founders of Bankrupt Three Arrows Capital Plan Trading Platform for Distressed Crypto Debt 

Cointelegraph: CoinFLEX creditors dissatisfied with restructuring to OPNX: Report

Unchained: 3AC Founders’ New Crypto Exchange OPNX to Shut Down

Cointelegraph: OPNX to shut down with mysterious new exchange as replacement

Decrypt: CoinFLEX Creditors React to OPNX Closure: 'They Have Left a Trail of Destruction'

OX.FUN

March 11 Twitter spaces on OX.FUN with Davies and Zhu 

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