The late spring and summer months of 2022 would be remembered not only for their extreme temperatures across the world, but also for an overwhelming series of collapsing major crypto companies. Terra Lab in May, Celsius in June and now the enduring agony of a Singapore-based crypto hedge fund, Three Arrows Capital (3AC). Technically, 3AC was sentenced to liquidation by a court in the British Virgin Islands on June 27, but it was the last week that saw new developments around the business.
The liquidators of 3AC are brutally demanding access at the company’s headquarters in Singapore due to “virtual radio silence from company management/directors”. They believe the desktop may contain cold wallets or information on how to access 3AC trading accounts, which liquidators want to access before one is deleted or destroyed. This willingness is perfectly understandable given the sums which had been lent to 3AC by the creditors – they seemed to be much higher than in previous reports.
The scandal surrounding a bankrupt hedge fund has taken on such proportions that the chief executive of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has even decided to publicly disavow the company’s ties to Singapore, saying 3AC (and TerraForm Labs as well) had “little to do” with crypto regulation in the country. Meanwhile, the 3AC founders have finally resurfaced after a known absence of five weeks. In an interview, Su Zhu and Kyle Davies admitted their problem with bull market overconfidence and have revealed their closeness to Terrawhich had crystallized in an investment of 500 million dollars which had fallen to zero.
New raids in South Korea after the collapse of Terra
As the investigation into Terra’s collapse continues, South Korean prosecutors have reportedly searched and seized 15 businesses, including seven crypto exchanges. The list included entities such as Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax. Authorities reportedly obtained data relating to TerraUSD Classic (USTC) (formerly UST) and Terra (LUNA) – now Luna Classic (LUC) – transactions, in which about 200,000 Korean investors suffered losses as a result of the sharp devaluation of token prices and the subsequent collapse in May.
Senior US officials will have to disclose their ownership of NFTs
The US Office of Government Ethics (OGE) has issued a legal opinion recommending various instances where senior government officials are required to disclose their investments in non-fungible tokens (NFTs). All NFT investments—both fractional (F-NFT) and collectibles—with a value of $1,000 must be reported if “held for investment or income-producing purposes” on the end of the reporting period.
SEC opposes XRP holders aiding Ripple defense
The case against Ripple is raging, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) wants certain “friends of the court” supporting Ripple to be barred from providing legal defense assistance. In its formal objection filed on Tuesday but dated June 7, the regulator objected to the decision to recognize 1,746 Ripple (XRP) holders as “amici curiae” with attorney John E. Deaton. The latter holds 3,252 affidavits signed by the token holders, essentially stating that they are victims of the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple due to the shortfall.