DeFiance Capital is a Singapore-based crypto investment firm founded by Arthur Cheong (known publicly as Arthur_0x). The firm focuses primarily on liquid token investments in decentralized finance, distinguishing itself from pure venture funds by taking active positions in publicly traded DeFi protocols rather than equity-only stakes. Cheong launched DeFiance as an independent fund around 2020, building it out of an early background in crypto trading and DeFi research.
The fund's investment thesis centers on DeFi infrastructure with real revenue, on-chain governance participation, and protocols capturing sustainable fee flows. DeFiance does not publish AUM figures publicly. Industry estimates have placed the fund in the range of $100–400 million at its peak during the 2021 bull cycle, though those figures are unconfirmed. The firm operates with a lean team and is not registered as a public fund; detailed financial disclosures are not available.
Notable investments
- Aave – one of DeFiance's highest-profile liquid positions; Cheong has publicly discussed the protocol's fee-switch potential and governance dynamics on multiple occasions.
- Synthetix – early backing for the derivatives liquidity protocol on Ethereum and Optimism.
- dYdX – investment in the decentralized perpetuals exchange prior to its token launch.
- Lido Finance – position in the dominant liquid staking protocol; Cheong has written publicly about Ethereum staking economics.
- Sky Mavis / Axie Infinity – early exposure to the play-to-earn model before its peak and subsequent decline.
- StarkWare – reported participation in the Layer 2 ZK-rollup ecosystem ahead of token launch.
Public information on the full portfolio breadth is limited. DeFiance does not maintain a public portfolio page.
Team
Arthur Cheong is the founder and managing partner. Before DeFiance, he worked in traditional finance and transitioned into crypto around 2017–2018, becoming an early DeFi participant. He is active on X (formerly Twitter) where he publishes research threads on DeFi protocol mechanics, token economics, and market positioning. No other named partners have been confirmed publicly. The team is reported to be small – fewer than ten people – consistent with a liquid-token fund model that requires less deal-sourcing infrastructure than pure venture.
Recent activity
In March 2022, Cheong's personal wallets were compromised in a targeted spear-phishing attack, resulting in losses estimated at approximately $1.7 million in NFTs and tokens. Cheong disclosed the incident publicly and published a widely-cited post-mortem on Medium, which became a reference document on social-engineering risks in crypto. The fund itself was not materially affected.
The 2022 bear market and the Terra/LUNA collapse impacted DeFi funds broadly. DeFiance reportedly restructured during this period, with some investor redemptions. By 2023–2024, public commentary from Cheong shifted toward a selective recovery thesis – focusing on protocols with genuine revenue, reduced token inflation, and institutional DeFi adoption. The fund's activity in 2024–2025 has not been disclosed in detail, and no major new fundraise announcement has been confirmed publicly as of mid-2025.
DeFiance remains one of the more intellectually active DeFi-focused funds, with Cheong's public research contributing to its reputation beyond deal flow alone. The firm's long-term position depends on DeFi protocols crossing into institutional adoption – a trend still in early stages. Its liquid-first strategy gives it flexibility that pure venture funds lack, though it also exposes it more directly to market cycles. Investors tracking DeFi-native funds watch DeFiance as a sentiment indicator for the sector.
