(Reuters) – Singapore-based crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital failed to meet margin calls this past weekend as cryptocurrency prices slid, according to a report from the Financial Times.
New Jersey-based crypto lender BlockFi was among the groups that liquidated at least some of Three Arrows’ positions, the FT said, citing people familiar with the matter who it did not identify.
Three Arrows, which made a strategic investment in BlockFi in 2020, had borrowed bitcoin from the company, the FT said, but was unable to meet a margin call on that loan. One of the people said the liquidation had occurred by mutual consent, the FT said.
The company and co-founder Kyle Davies did not immediately respond to requests for comment during the U.S. day.
In a tweet, BlockFi CEO Zac Prince said his company liquidated collateral against a loan to a large client, without naming who the client was.
“We fully accelerated the loan and fully liquidated or hedged all the associated collateral,” he tweeted.
Three Arrows had tweeted on Wednesday it was committed to working things out. There had been chatter on social media that it faced liquidation issues.
“We are in the process of communicating with relevant parties and fully committed to working this out,” Su Zhu, the co-founder said in a tweet, without going into further detail.
The hedge fund was set up in 2012, according to its website.
Bitcoin hit a fresh 18-month low this week, extending falls triggered after major crypto lender Celsius Network froze withdrawals and the prospect of sharp U.S. interest rate rises shook the volatile crypto asset class.
(Reporting by Hannah Lang and Michelle Price in Washington; Editing by Chris Reese and David Gregorio)
