More non-fungible tokens (NFTs) seized from the collection of collapsed crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital are coming to auction, in what will mark the largest-ever live sale of digital art.
Nearly 40 works from the fund’s GRAILS collection, including works from Dmitri Cherniak, generative artist Tyler Hobbs and Larva Labs, are estimated to sell for more than $5 million during the June 15 sale, Sotheby's announced today (May 31).
“The GRAILS collection has long been renowned throughout the digital art world, distinguished by the depths of its holdings for many of the leading generative artists at the center of the movement,” said Michael Bouhanna, Sotheby’s head of digital art and NFTs, in a statement.
Sotheby’s sold seven works from the GRAILS collection in May for $2.5 million, with all the NFTs exceeding their high estimates. Hobbs’ Fidenza #725, from the generative artist’s Fidenza series, sold for more than $1 million, while Autoglyph #187 fetched more than $570,000.
The auction house also recently sold another group of GRAILS works for more than $3 million in a private sale that included a CryptoPunk NFT and pieces from Hobbs and Cherniak.
“Congrats to the new owners! Great auction results,” tweeted Su Zhu, one of Three Arrows Capital’s co-founders, in response to Sotheby’s two previous sales.
The latest iteration of the fund’s NFT sell-off will include works by Kjeti Golid, a lesser-known Norway-based generative artist; Jeff Davis, who creates abstract pieces through algorithms; and Matt DesLauriers, a Canadian coder who integrates JavaScript into his NFTs.
Cherniak, Hobbs, Snowfro, Deafbeef and Hidekei Tsukamoto will also have pieces in the upcoming auction.
Sotheby’s will honor artist resale royalty rates from the auction, according to the auction house, which also said it plans to offer additional works from the GRAILS collection in sales throughout the year.
Why are the fund’s assets being auctioned off?
The liquidation of Three Arrows Capital, which filed for bankruptcy in July 2022, has been handled by advisory firm Teneo. In February, the firm released a notice regarding its intention to sell off Three Arrows Capital’s NFT collections.
“We chose to partner with the Sotheby’s digital art team on the sale of this expansive NFT collection because we believe that they bring a best-in-class approach that will ultimately maximize the value of these assets on behalf of all creditors,” said Jack Coster, Teneo’s managing director, in a statement emailed to Observer.
Zhu and and co-founder Kyle Davies have since opened a new cryptocurrency exchange. The Open Exchange (OPNX) launched in February and lets users leverage bankruptcy claims as collateral.
Davies is currently living in Indonesia, which doesn’t have an extradition treaty with the U.S., while Zhu’s location remains unknown.
