In a surprising turn of events, it has been revealed through blockchain data that a wallet linked to the bankrupt crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) made a purchase of the Neon Village non-fungible token (NFT) for 20 Ether (ETH) on July 5. Despite the fund’s financial troubles, the transaction went through due to an offer that had been placed by the wallet three years ago and was never canceled.
The sale was announced by the SuperRare Bot X channel, known for posting alerts about significant sales on the Super Rare NFT marketplace. The buyer, identified as “abcdefg,” received congratulations from some NFT collectors in the replies.
However, a user named Brian quickly noticed an unusual detail about the transaction. The bid for the NFT had been placed almost three years ago, an unusually long period for an offer to remain unaccepted or uncanceled. Brian speculated in a post, “I wonder if the buyer just forgot his eth was deposited in the SR contract this whole time.”
Blockchain data confirms that the buyer had indeed placed a bid of 20 ETH for token ID #26497 (Neon Village) on August 21, 2021, almost three years before the seller accepted it.
On the Arkham Intelligence platform, the buyer is identified as “Three Arrows Capital: OpenSea User (0xFf4),” indicating that the wallet belongs to the failed hedge fund. Furthermore, on August 1, 2021, the account sent 2,615.65 ETH (equivalent to $7.8 million at the time) to Three Arrows Capital, suggesting that the account is either owned by the hedge fund itself or one of its creditors or debtors.
Eventually, another user named Vombatus revealed the identity of the buyer. In a reply to Brian’s post, they stated, “It was the 3AC wallet LMAO.”
Three Arrows Capital filed for bankruptcy in July 2022, and its wallets are currently under the control of liquidation firm Teneo. However, the funds used for the Neon Village purchase have been held in the SuperRare marketplace escrow since the offer was made in 2021, and most wallet apps would not have displayed it as part of the balance.
According to SuperRare marketplace documents, an offer can be withdrawn at any time, as long as it has not been accepted by the seller.
Neon Village, created by illustrator and animator SeerLight, was minted on July 24, 2021, and sold on the same day for 7 ETH (approximately $15,301 at the time). On October 13, 2021, the owner sold it to Ethereum user Anonymoux.eth for 100 ETH ($360,755), who held onto it until selling it to the 3AC-associated account on July 5.
Anonymoux incurred a loss of over $300,000 from the sale, while Seerlight received a royalty of 2 ETH ($5,964).
The second quarter of 2024 saw a significant surge in NFT marketplace sales, reaching a volume of $4 billion, the highest level since the first quarter of 2023.
Overall, despite the bankruptcy of Three Arrows Capital, the purchase of the Neon Village NFT highlights the intriguing and sometimes unpredictable nature of the crypto market.