Su Zhu (businessperson)

Last updated
Su Zhu
BornApril 1987 (age 36)
China
Education Columbia University (BA)
OccupationEntrepreneur
Known forCo-founder of Three Arrows Capital

Su Zhu (born April 1987) [1] is a Singaporean entrepreneur. Alongside his longtime friend and business partner Kyle Davies, he is a founder of the now-defunct cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital [2] and a founder of Open Exchange (OPNX), a cryptocurrency exchange. [3]

Contents

Early life and education

Zhu was born in China and moved to the United States at the age of 6. [1] He attended high school at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, graduating in 2006, [4] and graduated summa cum laude from Columbia University with a bachelor's degree in mathematics. [5]

Career

Zhu moved to Tokyo to trade derivatives at Credit Suisse before working as a trader at Flow Traders, a trading shop in Singapore, in 2009. In 2011, he briefly worked as a trader at Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong.

Three Arrows Capital

In 2012 Zhu and Davies founded Three Arrows Capital (3AC) in San Francisco. The two raised approximately $1 million in seed capital by borrowing money from their parents. [5] According to Davies in an interview on the podcast UpOnly, 3AC had doubled their money within the first two months. [5]

In 2013 Zhu and Davies re-registered the hedge fund in Singapore to avoid capital gains tax. [5]

According to New York Magazine , in it's early stage, the hedge fund focused on "arbitraging emerging-market foreign-exchange derivatives." [5] This continued until banks cut off 3AC from that market in 2017, which initiated the fund's shift to cryptocurrencies. [5]

At its peak in March 2022, 3AC managed an estimated $10 billion in cryptocurrency assets. [6]

As a result of popularity among cryptocurrency-related topics, Zhu amassed over 500,000 followers on Twitter (now X) shortly before the fund failed. [4]

Liquidation

On June 16, 2022 The Financial Times reported that 3AC had failed to meet its margin calls. [7] Six days later, The Wall Street Journal reported that the 3AC had failed to repay a $665 million Bitcoin and USD Coin loan to Voyager Digital, another cryptocurrency hedge fund. [8] [9] The same day, a court in the British Virgin Islands ordered the liquidation of 3AC, overseen by Teneo. [10]

On July 2, 2022 3AC filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy to protect its US assets from creditors. [11] The Monetary Authority of Singapore banned Zhu and Davies from participation in the financial sector for nine years. [12]

In an interview with Bloomberg held at an "undisclosed location" in July 2022, Zhu and Davies stated that they plan to move to the United Arab Emirates, [13] a country that does not have extradition treaties with either Singapore or the United States. [14] [ better source needed ]

In June 2023 3AC liquidators said they were seeking to recover $1.3 billion from Davies and Zhu. [15]

According to The New York Times , during the liquidation process, Zhu and Davies were in Bali, where Zhu attempted surfing and Davies dabbled in painting. [4] Zhu and his family had relocated to Singapore, where they lived in a "good-class bungalow" with a "permaculture farm — an elaborate system of lakes and gardens meant to replicate self-sustaining ecosystems in nature. It’s home to ducks, chickens and numerous types of dragonflies." [1]

OPNX

In late 2022 Zhu and Davies started a second venture called Open Exchange (OPNX) based in Hong Kong, which began offering its own cryptocurrency in 2023. [16]

Arrest and imprisonment

In late September 2023 Zhu was arrested at Changi Airport in Singapore, [17] while trying to leave the country. [18] Zhu was arrested pursuant to committal orders which sentenced him to four months in prison for failing to cooperate with the liquidators. [4] Zhu was ultimately imprisoned for three months, and claimed it was a "really enjoyable experience overall" in a video published on X. [19]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Ossinger, Joanna (2022-04-07). "Three Arrows Capital's Su Zhu Wants A New 'Freedom-Centric System'". Bloomberg News . Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  2. ↑ Lu, Yiwen (2023-09-23). "A Founder of the Crypto Hedge Fund Three Arrows Capital Is Arrested". The New York Times . Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  3. ↑ Ashworth, Louis (2023-01-16). "Three Arrows has returned to save crypto. Here's its pitch deck". Financial Times . Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Yaffe-Bellany, David (2023-06-09). "Their Crypto Company Collapsed. They Went to Bali". The New York Times . Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Wieczner, Jen (2022-08-15). "The Crypto Geniuses Who Vaporized a Trillion Dollars". New York Magazine . Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  6. ↑ Sigalos, MacKenzie (2023-09-29). "Fugitive founder of crypto hedge fund that lost $10 billion arrested in Singapore while attempting to flee". CNBC . Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  7. ↑ "Crypto hedge fund Three Arrows fails to meet lender margin calls". Financial Times . 16 June 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.(subscription required)
  8. ↑ Huang, Vicky Ge (22 June 2022). "Crypto Broker Voyager Digital Says Three Arrows Capital Hasn't Repaid $666 Million in Loans". The Wall Street Journal . Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  9. ↑ "Crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital in default on $665 million loan". The Washington Post . Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  10. ↑ Knauth, Dietrich (2022-07-11). "Three Arrows liquidators asks U.S. court to force crypto founders to cooperate". Reuters . Retrieved 2022-07-18.
  11. ↑ Roth, Emma (2022-07-02). "Crypto hedge fund Three Arrows files for bankruptcy". The Verge . Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  12. ↑ Wieczner, Jen (2024-02-22). "'They Are Very Comfortable With Lying'". New York Magazine . Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  13. ↑ Ossinger, Joanna; Shen, Muyao; Yang, Yueqi (22 July 2022). "Three Arrows Founders Break Silence Over Collapse of Crypto Hedge Fund". Bloomberg News . Archived from the original on 31 Oct 2022. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  14. ↑ Elhais, Hassan (2023-01-03). "How Does The Extradition Process Work For Criminal Matters? – Crime – United Arab Emirates". Mondaq . Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  15. ↑ "Three Arrows Liquidators Seek $1.3 Billion From Fund's Founders". Bloomberg News . 27 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.(subscription required)
  16. ↑ Yu, Elaine; Soon, Weilun; Osipovich, Alexander (2023-05-19). "A Crypto Hedge Fund Imploded. The Comeback Isn't Going So Well". The Wall Street Journal . ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  17. ↑ Melinek, Jacquelyn (2023-09-29). "Three Arrows Capital co-founder Zhu arrested in Singapore airport, sentenced four months in prison". TechCrunch . Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  18. ↑ Wieczner, Jen (2023-09-29). "Crypto Fugitive Su Zhu Has Been Arrested". New York Magazine . Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  19. ↑ Loh, Matthew (2024-01-26). "Crypto fund creator Su Zhu said his 3 months in a Singaporean prison were 'really enjoyable' because he finally didn't have internet, caffeine, or alcohol". Business Insider . Retrieved 2024-02-27.
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