How Su Zhu Built and Lost a Crypto Empire: The Rise and Fall of Three Arrows Capital

When the dust settled in September 2023, Su Zhu stood at Singapore Changi Airport with a fake passport in hand—not the billionaire founder everyone once knew, but a fugitive facing up to 10 years in prison. The $50 million mansion was seized, the digital assets that seemed invaluable had evaporated, and the cryptocurrency king had become a cautionary tale overnight.

The Making of a Crypto Celebrity

Su Zhu wasn’t born into the spotlight. In 2012, he was just another trader at Deutsche Bank, grinding away in relative obscurity. But Singapore’s ambitious entrepreneur had bigger dreams. By co-founding Three Arrows Capital (3AC) with Zoe Cruz, Su Zhu transformed himself into one of crypto’s most visible figures by 2021. He became famous for bold moves, aggressive positioning, and a particular brand of confidence that mesmerized the industry. His playbook seemed simple: move fast, take risks, and never hesitate.

The persona was magnetic—Su Zhu talked about “super cycles” on Twitter while dropping millions on rare NFTs, all while controlling billions in other people’s money. Wealthy investors, established hedge funds, and lending platforms all believed in him. Three Arrows Capital looked like a fortress of wealth built on sound strategy.

It was built on paper.

The Leverage Machine

The secret behind 3AC’s astronomical growth wasn’t genius—it was endless borrowing. Su Zhu engineered Three Arrows Capital into a borrowing apparatus without equal. Money flowed in from Genesis, BlockFi, Voyager, and countless other creditors. But instead of deploying capital strategically, he borrowed more to sustain the previous loans. This pyramid of debt was sustainable only as long as crypto prices kept climbing.

The strategy was high-wire walking disguised as financial innovation. By 2022, the foundation was already cracking—Su Zhu just didn’t acknowledge it. When you leverage $2 billion in assets to borrow $1 billion, you’re not creating value. You’re creating fragility.

The Collapse Begins: LUNA’s Implosion

May 2022 changed everything. LUNA collapsed, and with it, Three Arrows Capital’s $500 million investment vanished in days. Most observers treated it as a market dip. They were wrong.

As Bitcoin and other crypto assets tanked, the mathematics of leverage became brutal arithmetic. When collateral drops 50%, your debt doesn’t shrink—it grows exponentially in relative terms. The borrowed billion suddenly felt like a boulder crushing the company from inside. Creditors who had believed in Su Zhu’s vision now demanded repayment. The response? Silence. Su Zhu went dark, disappearing from communication channels as if he’d never existed.

Bankruptcy and the Escape Attempt

Three Arrows Capital formally collapsed, leaving a $3.5 billion debt gap in its wake. The fallout rippled through the industry—Genesis, BlockFi, Voyager, and other platforms faced insolvency. Thousands of investors discovered their fortunes had been wagered on a structure as stable as a house of cards.

But Su Zhu didn’t stay put. He fled to Dubai, attempting to maintain a luxurious lifestyle while regulatory authorities closed in. The charade lasted until September 2023, when he was arrested at Singapore Changi Airport attempting to leave the country using a fraudulent passport. The cryptocurrency king had become an inmate awaiting sentencing for fraud and other charges, potentially facing a decade behind bars.

What the Fall Reveals About Crypto

Su Zhu’s story isn’t really about bad luck—it’s about mismanagement at scale. He confused volatility with opportunity, leverage with strategy, and market sentiment with a sustainable business model. The empire appeared unshakeable because appearance was its only foundation.

The hard lesson: Real wealth isn’t what you earn during a bull run. It’s what you retain when gravity reasserts itself. Leverage is a tool that works in one direction until it suddenly works in the opposite direction with catastrophic force. Su Zhu learned this lesson in the most expensive way possible—by becoming an example rather than an innovator.

Three Arrows Capital once seemed unstoppable. Today, Su Zhu faces prison, his assets are liquidated, and his reputation is ash. The story serves as a stark reminder: In crypto, as in all markets, the wins that come too easily often precede the losses that come permanently.