First Mover Americas: BTC Dips as 3AC Liquidation is Ordered by BVI Court

Good morning, and welcome to First Mover. I’m Lyllah Ledesma, here to take you through the latest in crypto markets, news and insights.

• Market Moves: Bitcoin is down 5% as the liquidation of crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital is ordered by a British Virgin Islands court.

Price point

Bitcoin (BTC) has dipped below $20,000 as the news of the liquidation of crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) has been ordered in a court in the British Virgin Islands.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization was trading at around $19,700, down 5% on the day.

Ether (ETH) took a larger dip, trading 8% down over the last 24 hours. Solana’s SOL was down 11% and Avalanche (AVAX) dipped by 8%.

With uncertainty in the market rife right now, Jason Deane, analyst at Quantum Economics, said “the slightest negative revelation is heavily amplified in such a dire economic backdrop where people consider crypto assets as risk-on trades.”

“Coupled with exchanges under pressure and DeFi platforms being stress-tested to a degree only imagined by those who built them in the ‘good’ times, that uncertainty is not unfounded,” added Deane.

Looking ahead, Deane said that with no clear path forward as yet, his view is that this nervousness in the market will continue for “some time” and that there is probably more shakeout to come, possibly from the mining sector which is worth keeping a close eye on.

In traditional markets, European stocks retreated as global sentiment remained volatile. The pan-European Stoxx 600 dropped by 1.2%.

Market moves

By Jamie Crawley

The liquidation of crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) has been ordered by a British Virgin Islands (BVI) court, a person with knowledge of the the situation told CoinDesk.

• The court order was made on June 27.
• Partners from New York-based Teneo Restructuring have been called in to handle the insolvency, the person said.
• Three Arrows Capital, founded by Su Zhu and Kyle Davies in 2012, has suffered heavy losses in the recent sharp downturn in the crypto markets. The possibility of insolvency was reported in mid-June after it incurred at least $400 million in liquidations.
• Crypto brokerage Voyager Digital (VOYG.TO) issued a default notice to 3AC this week after the fund failed to make required payments on loans of 15,250 bitcoins and $350 million in USDC. Voyager’s shares had plunged after it disclosed its exposure to 3AC.
• 3AC has been an active investor in the digital asset industry in recent years with investments across non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized finance (DeFi), layer 1 blockchain firms and crypto companies.
• Teneo declined to comment. 3AC did not immediately respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment.
• The court order and Teneo’s role was reported earlier by Sky News.

Latest headlines

• A Major Crypto Exchange Abandons Ethereum: Is the World’s Computer Falling Behind? By ditching Ethereum for Cosmos, dYdX has sparked claims that it has chosen sovereignty over security.
• Three Arrows Capital Liquidation Ordered in British Virgin Isles: Report Partners from Teneo Restructuring have been called in to handle the insolvency, Sky News reported.
• Bitcoin Dips Under $20K on Blunted Growth Sentiment as Spain Fuels Inflation Concerns Traders assessed revived concerns of rampant inflation and growth for the coming months.

Today’s newsletter was edited by Parikshit Mishra and produced by Stephen Alpher.