A number of supposed Open Exchange (OPNX) investors have been blasted by the CEO of the crypto claims trading platform after some publicly distanced themselves from the project after being named as backers.
On April 22, OPNX’s CEO Leslie Lamb tweeted that the behavior of the firms was “disgusting” and “disappointing” saying they “want all the upside with little to no risk.”
“I’m here to remind everyone that’s not how entrepreneurship works, if it isn’t already clear,” Lamb added.
I’ve gotten all but 4 hours of sleep dealing with the nonsense that has ensued from transparent communications, so I’ll get straight to it.
Investors want all the upside with little to no risk. But I’m here to remind everyone that’s not how entrepreneurship works, if it isn’t…
— Leslie Lamb (@therealleslamb0) April 22, 2023
OPNX is a bankruptcy claims firm established by Kyle Davies and Su Zhu, the founders of the bankrupt crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC).
The drama first began on April 21 when OPNX tweeted a video of Lamb thanking a number of “major investors” for their support.
The list of investors named by OPNX included AppWorks, Susquehanna (SIG), DRW, MIAX Group, China Merchant Bank International and Token Bay Capital Nascent and Tuwaiq Limited.
1/ As we approach the launch of claims for our first estate, Celsius, we’d like to express gratitude to everyone who believed in our mission of helping 20M+ claimants.
A special thank you goes to our major investors, including AppWorks, Susquehanna (SIG), DRW, MIAX Group, China pic.twitter.com/G406Y7Ponz
— OPNX (@OPNX_Official) April 21, 2023
Nearly half of the listed backers now claim they never elected to provide funding to OPNX and have denied any and all association with the firm.
The first company to publicly deny support was decentralized finance (DeFi) trading firm Nascent, which claimed that while it bought Coinflex (FLEX) tokens, first issued by the company’s previous manifestation, it did not participate in a funding round for OPNX.
Just to clarify, Nascent did not participate in an OPNX fundraising round, we invested in FLEX tokens in early 2021.
— Nascent (@nascentxyz) April 21, 2023
Taiwan-based venture capital firm Appworks took to Twitter on April 22 to provide further clarification on its investment position stating that its funding had been “forcibly converted” from its initial holdings in CoinFLEX and that they “do not support what [Davies and Zu] did during the last days of 3AC.”
We are backers of CoinFlex and were supportive of Mark to rebuild for stakeholders. Our equity is being forcibly converted to OPNX and we have not committed capital to the new entity. We never met Su Zhu or Kyle Davies and do not support what they did during the last days of 3AC
— AppWorks (@AppWorks) April 22, 2023
Additionally, capital market company DRW Trading chose not to mince words when distancing itself from the exchange, bluntly tweeting it is “not an investor in OPNX.”
DRW is not an investor in OPNX nor are any of its affiliates investors in OPNX.
— DRW (@DRWTrading) April 21, 2023
Since the public spat first played out across Twitter, FLEX, the primary token of OPNX, has plummeted more than 21% according to data from TradingView.
Cryptox contacted Susquehanna (SIG), MIAX Group and China Merchant for clarification on their investments in OPNX but did not immediately receive a response.
Related: OPNX quips about its early dismal volume after reporting 90,000% surge
According to OPNX’s pitch deck which first circulated in January this year, it will allow investors to buy and sell claims on bankrupt crypto firms such as 3AC and FTX.
Unlike other claims market firms, OPNX purports to allow customers to use claims as collateral for trading. In addition, the firm stated that it could help “fill the power vacuum left by FTX” and expand into other more regulated markets like stocks and equities.
In June 2022, 3AC received a notice of default from crypto exchange Voyager Digital after failing to pay a loan of 15,250 Bitcoin (BTC) and 350 million USD Coin (USDC).
On July 1, 2022, 3AC filed for bankruptcy and has been the subject of criticism from the broader crypto industry with many of its creditors accusing its founders of running away from legal action.
A number of crypto companies have publicly stated that they will refuse to associate with anyone who supports OPNX. Regardless, CoinFLEX, the main company behind the OPNX project has defended itself, claiming that it will help make customers of failed crypto ventures “whole again.”
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