$10B cryptocurrency hedge fund founder finds Singapore prison enjoyable

On Jan. 22, Zhu reflected on his time behind bars in edited clips from an unreleased podcast on the social media platform X.

“Obviously no one wants to go to prison,” Zhu said. “But I think that it’s actually a really enjoyable experience overall.”

According to Zhu, the lights at the facility are shut off from 9:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. There is no internet time, no alcohol, no caffeine, so he just falls asleep immediately and wakes up right when the light comes on.

“I had the best sleep of my life in prison,” he added.

Adjusting to sleeping on a mat on the floor was challenging, said Zhu, but he described it as giving him a “magical feeling.”

“You feel a kinship with your ancestors,” Zhu said. “Because it’s like, this is how I was supposed to live.”

Su Zhu, founder of cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital. Photo from on X (Twitter).

While some users on X applauded Zhu’s comments as inspirational, others mocked him, with one user describing his process as “the craziest coping mechanism I have ever seen.”

At its peak in 2022, 3AC managed about $10 billion in assets, making it one of the most prominent crypto hedge funds in the world, according to CNBC.

The firm filed for bankruptcy in mid-2022 after the plunge in cryptocurrency prices and a particularly risky trading strategy combined to wipe out its assets and leave it unable to repay lenders.

Zhu was arrested at Changi Airport last September as he attempted to leave Singapore for failing to cooperate with liquidation investigations. After serving three months in prison, he was released in December.

Since then, he has focused on his new project, a crypto exchange named OPNX, co-founded in April last year with Kyle Davies, another Three Arrows co-founder, among others, as reported by the South China Morning Post.