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Three Arrows Capital, the beleaguered crypto hedge fund, has been ordered into liquidation by a court in the British Virgin Islands, Sky News first reported. 

Teneo, an advisory firm, has been appointed to handle the liquidation, a source with knowledge of the matter confirms.

Why it matters: Being ordered into liquidation will put a more standard process in place for Three Arrows and its creditors at a time when some of the fund's lenders appear confused and say they have had little communication from the investor.

This also means Teneo is now in control of 3AC's assets, rather than founders Kyle Davies and Su Zhu.

Details: Teneo is taking stock of what 3AC actually owns and is expected to collect information on 3AC's creditors and debtors via a website in coming days, the source says.

Known creditors include Voyager Digital, a company that has said it is owed about $674 million.

Three Arrows' fund is incorporated in the British Virgin Islands.

Of note: The liquidation process is in its early stages, meaning the creditors are probably in for a long haul.

3AC has not yet responded to a request for comment.

1 big thing: Three Arrows Capital in liquidation

Illustration of a bear claw holding a crypto coin.

Pinterest on Tuesday announced Google's president of commerce and payments, Bill Ready, will join as its CEO — with founder Bill Silbermann transitioning to executive chairman.

Why it's the BFD: For years Pinterest bulls have said that the social media company could unlock so much more potential by adding e-commerce to its ad-centric business. That transformation, however, has been slow and lackluster.

The hiring of Ready, a PayPal and Venmo vet who sits on the board of Williams-Sonoma, makes it clear that Pinterest hopes to speed that process up at a time when its stock is down 75% in the past year.

"As someone who has spent most of my career in commerce and payments, it’s so clear to me that Pinterest has the opportunity to build something unique — something special," Ready wrote in a LinkedIn post.

Yes, and: As Lucinda reported in her scoop last night, Nick Fox, who led Google's long-term bets, is set to assume Ready's role at Google on an interim basis. He'll make for the third leader in roughly three years at Google Pay — a business that has had strategy shifts along with the leadership changes. 

Of note: While Pinterest's stock has dipped, it is a profitable business and has shown willingness to acquire by announcing plans to snap up A.I. shopping platform The Yes in June. 

Thought bubble: Pinterest probably won't be a fintech company, but, even before Ready, it was adding more fintech-esque features. 

That is true for other companies that are not in the fintech or finance space, too. Which means we're likely to see more acquisitions of fintech businesses by such players.

2. The BFD: Pinterest gets a fintech CEO

An illustration of a phone with a Pinterest app that includes an invest button

The mysterious debtor who owes $47 million to CoinFLEX? It's none other than "bitcoin Jesus" Roger Ver, CoinFLEX said late Tuesday.

Why it matters: CoinFLEX is looking to raise $47 million via token sales so that it can restart withdrawals on June 30. But it plans to pay token buyers via repayments from the debtor.

It's just that, in a truly strange twist, Ver appears to be denying that it is him.

"These rumors are false," Ver wrote on Twitter, amid allegations he was the party who had failed to make a repayment to CoinFLEX. "Not only do I not have a debt to this counter-party, but this counter- party owes me a substantial sum of money."

What they're saying: "We don’t know why he’s denying the situation," CoinFLEX CEO Mark Lamb told Axios' Crystal Kim. "We hope he changes his mind. We think there is a clear route to recovery for CoinFlex customers and for CoinFlex as a company."  

Still, Lamb is painting Ver's past track record in a relatively positive light, despite his denial. And, honestly, who wouldn't, if returns from your token sale depended on said debtor's track record: "He had a long track record of previously topping up margin and meeting margin requirements in accordance with this agreement," Lamb wrote on Twitter.

Bottom line: "Ver's denial of his debt owed to CoinFlex puts a wrinkle in that [token repayment] plan," Kim writes.

3. He says, he says ... 

Illustration of two open briefcases facing each other with speech bubbles over them as if they're having a conversation. 

FTC sues Walmart over money transfer fraud controls (FTC)

The Federal Trade Commission sued Walmart Tuesday, saying the retailer allowed its money transfer services to be used by fraudsters "who fleeced consumers out of hundreds of millions of dollars." 

"The company did not properly train its employees, failed to warn customers, and used procedures that allowed fraudsters to cash out at its stores," the lawsuit alleges.

Volt Bank shuts down amid fundraising woes (Reuters)

Australia's first online-only bank, Volt, has returned some $100 million in customer assets and shut its doors. The company had failed to secure enough funding to continue operating, and has laid off some 140 staffers.

Questions arise about crypto-backed mortgages (CoinDesk)

Amid the recent crypto frenzy, companies began offering crypto-backed mortgages. Now the question is: Will buyers be able to face the potential margin calls?

Stripe commits $2.4 million more to carbon capture (Axios)

The payments darling committed $2.4 million via pre-purchase agreements across six carbon capture startups.

4. Credit score

Illustration of positive and negative trend lines coming out of center point.

• Entrepreneur First, a UK-based investor and startup program, raised $158m. http://axios.link/aPjn 

• Cleo, a London-based Gen Z-focused fintech, raised $80m in Series C funding. Sofina led and was joined by EQT Ventures, Balderton and LocalGlobe. web.meetcleo.com

• Progcap, an Indian provider of SMB financing, raised $40m in additional Series C funding led by Creation Investments Capital Management, Tiger Global and Google, with Sequoia Capital India also participating. http://axios.link/cVg3 

• Dynamic, a wallet-based authentication startup, raised $7.5m. a16z crypto led and was joined by First Round Capital, Castle Island Ventures, Solana Ventures, Chapter One and Circle Ventures. dynamic.xyz

• FNZ led a Series-A investment in Bondsmith, a U.K.-based cash management and savings company that plans to expand into the Asia-Pacific region. bondsmith.co.uk

• Conversion Capital, which invests in fintech and infrastructure, raised $122m for its third fund. http://axios.link/9O9j

• MassMutual Ventures raised $100m for a new fund backing early and growth-stage companies in the financial technology, cybersecurity, enterprise SaaS, and digital health sectors. www.massmutualventures.com 

5. Deals of the day

Situational awareness: Axios Media Pro reporters Tim Baysinger and Kerry Flynn are digging into the media landscape on Thursday at 12:30pm ET with DoubleVerify CEO Mark Zagorski and Standard General chief investment officer Soo Kim. Make sure you don't miss it.

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June 29, 2022

1 big thing: Three Arrows Capital in liquidation