 |
‘‘Three Arrowz Capitel’ made a huge memecoin bet.
The founders of Singapore-based Three Arrows Capital (3AC), once honored as a multibillion-dollar powerhouse in the world of cryptocurrency investing, have taken a sharp turn into the memecoin space with their latest twist.
3AC co-founder Su Zhu recently stepped up his public memecoin trading game with a tweet saying “Run it back,” and has since also announced new investments such as “Fat Girlfriend” and “Astrofolio.” Tokens based on astrological signs.
Zhu’s new investment thesis concerns the so-called “memecoin supercycle.”
At the recent Token2049 conference in Singapore, meme trader Murad Mahmudov argued that memecoins offer a refreshing twist in a market where VC-backed altcoins are overvalued. He argued that memcoins would outperform altcoins by leveraging retail trader fatigue from being used as “exit liquidity” by altcoin founders and venture capitalists.
Zhu went one step further and boldly predicted that institutional investors would soon flock to memecoins.
“Flood funds that previously rejected memecoins are now being asked why LPs failed to spot the movement. Institutional allocation to MEMCOIN is likely to be a story of the fourth quarter of 2024.”
Somewhat ironically, Zhu was the main proponent of the last failed “supercycle” theory. The theory argued that increased institutional investment meant the last bull market would never end. Of course, that ended, 3AC was partly to blame, and the company’s $3 billion debt was linked to the collapse of numerous cryptocurrency lenders. 3AC has now risen like an unwanted phoenix from the ashes.
After cryptocurrency exchange OPNX failed and was shut down in February, they backed a new memecoin exchange, OX.Fun, a derivatives trading platform that reportedly raised $4 million earlier this year.
The exchange’s native token appears to be OX, but it also offers 3AC tokens. Co-founder Kyle Davies recently reposted a call from the exchange’s CEO calling for “energetic zoomers who want to be part of the next multi-billion dollar meme exchange.”
Originally, 3AC filed for bankruptcy in 2022 and was placed in liquidator. 3AC’s new version of the edgelord memecoin claims to be “legal, solvent and founded by Su in 2024.” It is now called “Three Arrowz Capitel”.
According to the fairly basic website, the new 3AC portfolio consists of Retardio, Hanbao, and FatGF, with job postings for “Solana Dumper”, “China Sniper”, and “Racist Cult Leader”.
The 3AC boys seem to have traded their hedge fund gravitas for a little memecoin madness.
It’s yet to be seen whether Zhu’s new vision is brilliant or just a desperate attempt to cash in on a trending cycle, but one thing is certain. Three Arrowz Capitel has embraced the 4chan-style memecoin ethos, for better or worse.
Are you out of kimchi?
According to CryptoQuant data, the Korean cryptocurrency market’s unique “kimchi premium” has reversed throughout the week.
Korea has an isolated cryptocurrency investment environment due to its regulatory structure.
In order for investors to trade fiat currency for cryptocurrency on a regulated exchange, they must have a local bank account with an official partnership with the exchange, linking their cryptocurrency activity to their official identity.
This structure effectively made it difficult for foreigners or institutions to trade on Korean exchanges, but retail demand kept domestic Bitcoin prices above the global average.
Now, Korea’s Bitcoin, showing a ‘reverse kimchi premium’, is trading at a lower price.
The reverse premium is interpreted as the result of lower domestic trading volume compared to overseas exchanges where demand has rapidly increased.
Korea’s market structure limits its ability to compete with international exchanges that benefit from broad investor access.
Globally, the potential of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is attracting institutional interest, a trend also observed across the wider investment scene in Asia.
Also read
characteristic
‘Account Abstraction’ Powers Up Your Ethereum Wallet: A Beginner’s Guide
characteristic
U.S. enforcement agencies are stepping up their game against cryptocurrency-related crimes.
A new report from Aspen Digital estimates that 76% of Asia’s private wealth is invested in digital assets, with a further 18% planning future investments.
The Hong Kong-based wealth management platform surveyed 80 family offices and high-net-worth individuals across the continent. More than half of respondents had exposure through funds or ETFs.
But Korea may still have a chance to catch up with global trends.
It is reported that the Financial Services Commission is planning to establish a virtual asset committee. The committee plans to deliberate on issues such as allowing companies to open cryptocurrency trading accounts and the possibility of issuing cryptocurrency spot ETFs.
Links between human trafficking, pig slaughter, collapsed cryptocurrency exchange and former mayor
Disgraced former Philippine mayor Alice Guo, accused of human trafficking, has been linked by local outlet Rappler to a wide-ranging international fraud network and to the now-defunct Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange AAX.
Guo is also fighting espionage charges and could face up to more than 1,200 years in prison.
Rappler’s investigation linked Guo and her business partner Huang Zhiyang to an associate named Dingkai Wang.
Guo and Huang co-founded Baofu Land Development Inc. in 2019, and raided the company’s assets to rescue hundreds of individuals who had been trafficked to commit cryptocurrency fraud. Huang and Wang held a nominal stake in Sun Valley Clark, a complex that was raided to rescue more than 1,000 victims forced to work as cryptocurrency pig-butchering scammers.
Mr Wang reportedly used his Cambodian passport to obtain a retirement visa in the Philippines, but fled in May 2023 after the Sun Valley raid.
Sun Valley’s majority ownership has been traced to two British Virgin Islands companies, one of which, Hanyip Limited, shares a Hong Kong address with Vico Capital Limited, which is linked to former executives of AAX.
AAX founder Su Weiyi is also listed as the owner of two Hong Kong companies along with Wang.
AAX closed at the end of 2022 and Hong Kong police arrested two executives. The platform is accused of misappropriating and defrauding customer funds.
Investigations across Southeast Asia have uncovered a surprising number of human trafficking and cryptocurrency scams, and Cambodia appears to be at the center of it all.
This year, Indian officials said they rescued 250 citizens who had been lured to Cambodia with false promises of jobs and engaged in illegal cyber activities.
Award-winning Cambodian journalist Mech Dara was recently arrested, with activists claiming his detention was linked to his investigative work exposing a cryptocurrency fraud hub and linking it to Senator Ly Yong Phat.
Phat, who was recently sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury, faces charges of human trafficking and forced labor involvement in cryptocurrency fraud. This is an accusation that the Cambodian government has officially condemned.
Also read
characteristic
Blockchain and the growing global plastic problem
heat
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia may be a sleeping giant for crypto: Crypto City Guide
The sluggers keep hitting o.n Tokenization
International clearing and settlement specialist Euroclear has announced a strategic stake in Singapore digital infrastructure company Marketnode for undisclosed financing terms.
Marketnode said in a press release that the strategic investment will enable Euroclear to contribute to building digital infrastructure in the Asia Pacific region with the goal of streamlining fund flow management and accelerating settlement processes.
Euroclear, which managed 37 trillion euros ($40 trillion) as of September 30, 2023, also has an experienced blockchain background.
In October 2023, the World Bank raised 100 million euros ($108.6 million) by issuing its first digital security on Euroclear’s blockchain platform.
Marketnode was established in 2021 by the Singapore Exchange and state-run investment fund Temasek and is conducting tokenization and blockchain-based investment infrastructure business.
In addition to its influential founding members, Marketnode also received investment from HSBC, a British bank with a market capitalization of $160 billion.
HSBC and Marketnode have joined together on the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Project Guardian, an initiative to explore tokenization and interoperable networks.
subscribe
The most interesting read on blockchain. Delivered once a week.
Yoon Yohan
Yohan Yoon is a multimedia journalist covering blockchain since 2017. He has contributed as an editor to Forkast, a cryptocurrency media outlet, and has covered Asian technology stories as an assistant reporter for Bloomberg BNA and Forbes. He spends his free time cooking and experimenting with new recipes.