In a surprising turn of events, the digital art collection from the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency hedge fund, Three Arrows Capital, has been sold at Sotheby's auction house in New York.
The sale fetched a staggering $11 million, setting a new record for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), despite a wider market downturn. One notable piece, Dmitri Cherniak's "Ringers #879," also known as "The Goose," was sold for an impressive $6.2 million.
Three Arrows Capital, once a leading player in the crypto market, went through a significant financial crisis in 2022, leading to one of the largest hedge-fund trading losses of all time.
The firm had borrowed heavily to fund its trading, resulting in bankruptcy with $3.5 billion in creditors' claims. At the peak of its operations, the company's net asset value was reported to be $18 billion, but subsequent investigations revealed a significant proportion of these assets were derived from uncollateralized borrowing from various lending platforms.
Vladislav SopovThis downfall is reflective of the broader state of the NFT market. After a booming 2021, the NFT market has seen a steep decline in demand and valuation. Factors such as the overall decline in the cryptocurrency market, coupled with the failure of key industry players like Three Arrows Capital, have contributed to this downturn.
Arman Shirinyan
Yuri Molchan
Vladislav Sopov
Dan Burgin