Sotheby's Auctioning Rare NFTs From 3AC's Seized Collection

Auction house Sotheby's is preparing to sell an expansive collection of non-fungible tokens (NFT) seized from bankrupt crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC).

Teneo, 3AC's liquidator, published a notice in February outlining its intent to sell an expansive list of NFTs estimated to be worth millions to recoup some losses. The Singapore-based hedge fund filed for bankruptcy in July.

In a press release on Wednesday, Sotheby's announced that it would be hosting a multi-part sale featuring NFTs from the Grails collection, formed as part of 3AC's asset portfolio primarily in 2021. Sotheby's refers to the contents of the Grails collection as "some of the most significant digital artworks ever assembled."

"This unparalleled collection will be released in chapters across various sales formats ranging from private sales to auctions and will occur across multiple locations globally, each one highlighting some of the most coveted and top grails," Sotheby's wrote in its description of the collection.

Highlights from the impressive portfolio include rare generative art pieces, like Dmitri Cherniak’s Ringers #879, Snowfro’s Chromie Squiggle #1780, Tyler Hobbs’ Fidenza #216, Larva Labs’ Zombie CryptoPunk #6649 and Autoglyph #187. The first sales from the collection will take place during Sotheby’s marquee sale week this May in New York.

“Collections are often representative of the time and the place from which they were formed, telling a unique story through their artworks," said Michael Bouhanna, Sotheby's head of digital art and NFTs. "This expansive collection marks an important moment in the rise of generative art on the blockchain in 2021, and was guided by the 3AC ethos of acquiring some of the highest quality and rarest works available on the market."

Teneo said in a statement that it chose to partner with Sotheby's digital art team on the sale "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.”

The upcoming Sotheby's sales are not related to Starry Night Capital's impressive NFT portfolio. The Starry Night fund was set up by 3AC in partnership with well-known NFT collector Vincent Van Dough in August 2021. The NFTs in that collection were moved to a Gnosis Safe in October and are "presently subject to an application before the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court in the High Court of Justice in the British Virgin Islands," according to Teneo's February filing.