3AC’s OPNX Acquiring Hodlnaut in Singapore Sets Off Backlash

The afflicted Hodlnaut’s acquisition by 3AC: a new business opportunity or an attempt to save face?

Kyle Davies staring at an astronaut hanging on a string from space.
Created by Gabor Kovacs from DailyCoin
  • OPNX crypto exchange offers $30M to Hodlnaut for debt repayment.
  • If the deal proceeds, OPNX exchange would acquire 75% of the stake.
  • On-chain sleuths detect an unexpected link between Hodlnaut & OPNX.

Hodlnaut, the troubled crypto lender with a whopping $190 million exposure to Terra Luna’s financial fiasco in May 2022, could soon be acquired by OPNX. This was unraveled in court filings in Singapore yesterday as the insolvent firm seeks restructuring regulated by Singaporean authorities.

$30M in FLEX Tokens to Save the Day?

Bloomberg, who claimed to have seen the term sheet, broke the story. The $30M capital injection into Hodlnaut comes entirely in $FLEX, an altcoin that has seen bullish momentum throughout the year, even though it’s associated with at least two struggling parties – CoinFLEX and Three Arrows Capital.

Sponsored

Despite the impressive 3823.2% yearly bull run for Flex Coin (FLEX), this coin was initially launched as the native token to CoinFLEX, another embattled crypto exchange that filed for restructuring in August 2022. Co-founders Mark Lamb, Sudhu Arumugam, and Su Zhu are also board members of the OPNX exchange, which only launched in April 2023.

Kyle Davies and Zhu raised $25 million in capital to start the debt claim-focused OPNX exchange while being on the run from authorities. Interestingly, Singaporean liquidators have been chasing the pair for over a year and even issued subpoenas on Twitter, as both Davies and Zhu allegedly evaded any direct communication.

On-Chain Detectives Break the Savior Narrative

A self-proclaimed on-chain explorer on Twitter connected the links between suspicious transactions detected by Nansen’s security company in June and the recent proposal. The sleuth points to a June 13th, 2023, inflow of $9.5 million, 2221.41x more than the regular $4.20K average.

Nansen security auditors indicated that the $9.5M of $FLEX was sent to a wallet belonging to Hodlnaut. Internet detective On-Chain Penguin followed the money only to discover that Hodlnaut’s crypto wallet address was used to pay salaries to the top executives at the OPNX exchange.

Blockchain transactions pinpoint the fact that Hodlnaut funds OPNX’s operations, and the proposition to acquire 75% of the bankrupt crypto lender’s stake would likely save $FLEX and $OX, two altcoins that would otherwise plunge in market price if Hodlnaut is forced to sell off their stash to pay back the creditors.

On the Flipside

  • Teneo liquidators working on the controversial Three Arrows Capital crypto hedge fund bankruptcy case seek to recover $1.3 billion from Kyle Davies and Su Zhu.
  • OPNX exchange was already reprimanded by the United Arab Emirates authorities in Dubai for operating without a license.
  • Despite Hodlnaut’s founders Simon Lee and Zhu Juntao claiming that selling the embattled crypto platform would work out better for the creditors, key creditors denounced the plan, preferring to carry on the bankruptcy process.

Why This Matters

The Terra Luna fiasco in 2022 saw a market-wide domino effect. Both 3AC and Hodlnaut were heavily exposed to LUNC implosion and the depegging of UST.

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This article is for information purposes only and should not be considered trading or investment advice. Nothing herein shall be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice. Trading forex, cryptocurrencies, and CFDs pose a considerable risk of loss.

Author
Tadas Klimasevskis

Tadas Klimaševskis is a DailyCoin Journalist, covering memecoins & latest developments. Tadas has moderate holdings in SHIB, HBAR, LTC, MATIC and a selection of low-cap meme currencies.

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