DeFiance Capital's Arthur Cheong Is Raising Money for a New Fund: Sources

Arthur Cheong, founder of the DeFiance Capital crypto investment fund that was hit by Three Arrows Capital’s collapse this year, is raising money for a new fund, according to four people familiar with the matter.

The new venture fund, which will remain under the DeFiance name, will focus on liquid crypto investments with a target of raising about $100 million, one person familiar with the matter said. DeFiance is focusing its efforts on institutional investors such as fund of funds and family offices, that person added.

Cheong declined to comment. DeFiance, which he founded in August 2020, focuses on decentralized-finance strategies and venture-capital investments in Web3 companies.

A successful fundraising effort would represent something of a comeback for DeFiance. It said in July that it was “materially affected” by the failure of Three Arrows, which filed for bankruptcy and is facing $3.5 billion in creditor claims (including from Genesis, which is owned by CoinDesk parent Digital Currency Group).

At the time, DeFiance distanced itself from Three Arrows, saying it was “an entirely separate and independent crypto focused investment fund” and that Cheong had “no visibility on the hedge fund's financial statements and/or financial condition.” However, DeFiance has invested alongside Three Arrows in multiple deals, and co-founder Su Zhu still mentions DeFiance in his Twitter bio.

"Arthur Cheong is committed to taking all necessary steps to protect, preserve and recover all assets which are and were owned in the context of [DeFiance Capital]'s business," the company said in the July statement.