3AC’s Grail NFT Collection Auctioned at $2.5M by Sotheby’s

Luxury auction house Sotheby’s successfully completed the sales of some digital collectibles owned by bankrupt Singaporean hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC).

The NFTs were sold at a value of $2.5 million on May 19th, 2023. The auctioned Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) included the popular Grail collection which was seized from the hedge fund last year after it filed for bankruptcy alongside a long list of other embattled crypto firms.

Markedly, this auction comes three months after Teneo, the liquidator in charge of 3AC publicly announced the plans of the hedge fund to sell a large portion of its digital collections which was running into millions. 

Sotheby’s Appreciates 3AC’s NFT Collection

According to Sotheby’s description, these are “some of the most significant digital artworks ever assembled.”

“This meticulously selected collection showcases the works of four leading artists who are pushing the boundaries of contemporary algorithmic art,” Per the detailed description.

“The emergence of this collection marks a significant opportunity for collectors to celebrate the pioneering generative artists who helped bring the form to this wider audience, and who continue to push for form forward,” Michael Bouhanna, Sotheby’s Head of Digital Art and NFTs added

3AC’s NFTs Sold For More Than Sotheby’s Estimate

Generative digital arts like Tyler Hobbs’ Fidenza #725, Dmitri Cherniak’s Ringers #375, Larva Labs-created Autoglyph #187, CryptoPunk #1326, and three others were all included in the auction. However, the highest prized digital collectible was Tyler Hobbs Fidenza #725 which was sold for a little over $1 million. It was initially estimated to auction for around $120,000-$180,000.

Larva Labs-created Autoglyph #187 was also estimated to auction at the same amount but was eventually sold at $571,500. Ultimately, every 3AC auctioned piece of art was sold higher than its earlier estimated values. 

3AC Co-founders Raise Fresh Funds

On the other hand, the bankrupt crypto hedge fund is still trying to recoup funds as part of its bankruptcy proceedings. Kyle Davies and Zhu Su, co-founders of 3AC have signed a new partnership with Mark Lamb and Sudhu Arumugam, the co-founders of Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange CoinFLEX to raise fresh funds for another crypto venture.

Before this time, Davies and Su had shown a significant level of irresponsibility towards their customers. They kept shifting blame to FTX and they also withheld information about their locations from liquidators and regulators.