3AC founders Zhu and Davies pitch to raise $25 million for new crypto exchange

Quick Take

  • The founders of defunct crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital and crypto exchange CoinFlex are pitching investors on a new crypto exchange focused on claims trading.
  • A new pitch deck shows the founders are trying to raise $25 million investors with a time-to-market goal of “asap.”

Su Zhu and Kyle Davies, the founders of collapsed crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC), are hoping to raise $25 million to start a new crypto exchange called GTX, according to two separate pitch decks obtained by The Block.

News of the fundraise comes two months after exchange giant FTX imploded, leaving more than a million creditors out of pocket. The new exchange takes advantage of the situation offering depositors the ability to transfer their FTX claims to GTX and receive immediate credit in a token called USDG, the pitch deck said. 

The exchange’s name is even a spin on “FTX,” with one of the GTX pitch decks opening with the line "because G comes after F." 

The Three Arrows pair are partnering with Mark Lamb and Sudhu Arumugam, who founded CoinFlex, a crypto exchange which is in the process of restructuring. The exchange’s executive team is also made up of several CoinFlex executives including the firm’s general counsel and chief technology officer, per one of the decks.

Celsius bankruptcy

GTX will leverage Coinflex’s technology to build the exchange and a legal team will be responsible for overseeing the onboarding of claims for all the recent crypto bankruptcies such as Celsius and Voyager, according to the decks.

Lamb declined to comment on the fundraising efforts. Davies didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. 

The exchange is looking to launch as soon as possible — potentially as soon as February — and is estimating that the claims market is worth around $20 billion, according to the decks. 

Three Arrows Capital was one of the largest hedge funds in crypto until last year's collapse of the Terra ecosystem left it facing significant losses. The financial advisory firm Teneo has been handling the liquidation of 3AC’s assets and the hedge fund has filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in New York.

In December, the court authorized issuance of subpoenas to Zhu and Davies to turn over any "recorded information, including books, documents, records, and papers" relating to Three Arrows Capital's property or finances.

Zhu and Davies resurface

Zhu and Davies both went quiet for some time after the hedge fund’s collapse but both since resurfaced on social media as of late. They are believed to be in Dubai and Bali, respectively.

Update: Story updated to add more details of GTX's plans.


Disclaimer: The former CEO and majority shareholder of The Block has disclosed a series of loans from former FTX and Alameda founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

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Yogita Khatri is a senior reporter at The Block, covering all things crypto. As one of the earliest team members, Yogita has played a pivotal role in breaking numerous stories, exclusives and scoops. With nearly 3,000 articles under her belt, Yogita holds the records as The Block's most-published and most-read author of all time. Prior to joining The Block, Yogita worked at crypto publication CoinDesk and The Economic Times, where she wrote on personal finance. To contact her, email: [email protected]. For her latest work, follow her on X @Yogita_Khatri5.
Ryan Weeks is deals editor at the The Block, focused on fundraising, M&A and institutional trends in the crypto space, among other things. He is particularly interested in investigative work — so please send tips! Ryan previously worked at Financial News, Dow Jones as a fintech correspondent in London. Prior to that, he wrote for several different publications, including Sifted, AltFi and Wired. Beyond journalism, Ryan is a keen reader and writer. He enjoys all things active, especially running, rugby, climbing and tennis.
Kari McMahon is a deals reporter at The Block covering startup fundraises, M&A, FinTech and the VC industry. Prior to joining The Block, Kari covered investing and crypto at Insider and worked as a python software developer for several years. For inquiries or tips, email [email protected]

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