Who he is
Arthur Cheong is a Singaporean investor who has become one of the most respected names in Asian decentralised finance. With a degree in Economics from Nanyang Technological University, he started in physical oil trading in BP's graduate programme, before moving to cryptocurrencies: first as a trading strategist at JST Capital, then as Vice President Growth & Strategy of the Zilliqa blockchain. In 2020 he founded DeFiance Capital, a "liquid venture" fund combining early-stage holdings and positions in listed tokens, with investments in Aave, Lido, dYdX, Axie Infinity, LayerZero and Arbitrum. He is a followed voice on X (@Arthur_0x), where he popularised the thesis that DeFi tokens should be analysed with fundamental metrics.
Current role
Founder, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of DeFiance Capital, which manages combined assets of more than 300 million dollars and remains one of Asia's most active crypto funds, focused on DeFi and gaming (Verified: September 2026). Since September 2025 he has also been a strategic advisor to OpenEden, a platform for tokenising US Treasuries (Verified: September 2026). His role as a member of dYdX's founding council has no up-to-date confirmation.
Career path
- 2014-2019 — Trader development programme at BP (shipping, analysis, oil trading), then crypto strategist at JST Capital and VP Growth & Strategy at Zilliqa.
- 2020 — Founds DeFiance Capital, among the world's first funds explicitly dedicated to DeFi.
- 2022-2023 — Comes through the collapses of Three Arrows Capital and FTX; rebuilds fundraising with a 100 million dollar liquid fund backed, among others, by Animoca Brands.
Recent developments and controversies
- March 2022 — His personal hot wallet is drained in a targeted phishing attack (NFTs worth around 1.7 million dollars, including Azuki and CloneX): Cheong made the incident public as a warning about operational security. Outcome: personal loss, no impact on client funds.
- 2022 — DeFiance, which operated under the Three Arrows Capital umbrella, was caught up in the 3AC bankruptcy as a creditor; Cheong publicly criticised the founders and reorganised the fund independently. Outcome: DeFiance survived and resumed fundraising in 2023.
- September 2025 — Appointed strategic advisor to OpenEden (RWA/tokenised Treasuries).
FAQ
Does Arthur Cheong still lead DeFiance Capital? Yes: he is the fund's founder, CEO and CIO, and in 2026 it remains active with more than 300 million dollars of combined assets and a focus on DeFi and crypto gaming.
Why is he considered an authoritative voice on DeFi? He was among the first managers to invest in DeFi protocols with a fundamental approach, publishing open research; DeFiance's historic portfolio (Aave, Lido, dYdX, Arbitrum) anticipated several of the sector's cycles.
See also
Verified sources
- https://cryptoslate.com/people/arthur-cheong/
- https://www.theblock.co/post/174077/arthur-cheongs-defiance-capital-raising-100-million-to
- https://www.panewslab.com/en/articles/8cf031e4-f4b2-43c2-aeaa-7ec7bfd81aa9
- https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/09/30/defiances-arthur-cheong-is-raising-money-for-
