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Tiantian Kullander, the co-founder of Singapore-based digital asset company Amber Group, died on Wednesday, Nov. 23 at the age of 30, an official statement issued by the company confirmed days after his passing.

News of the unexpected death of the young crypto founder was addressed by the company on Sunday night, Nov. 27, which has sent those in the financial markets sector reeling, with major news outlets picking up the story.

The statement revealed that Kullander “unexpectedly” died in his sleep, but did not say where it happened.

No other details were provided.

He is survived by his son and wife.

Annabelle Huang, a managing partner at Amber Group, tweeted a tribute.

Lost a dear friend who has changed my life, among many others, in ways he didn’t realize. @0xttk was the best of us - a rare mix of both a scholar and a degen - always generous with his time, uncompromisingly honest, and a fierce voice in our industry. His legacy will live on 🕯️ pic.twitter.com/LGmR0MMXLB

— Annabelle Huang (@_annabellehuang) November 25, 2022

She wrote: "Lost a dear friend who has changed my life, among many others, in ways he didn’t realize."

She added that Kullander was "a rare mix of both a scholar and a degen - always generous with his time, uncompromisingly honest, and a fierce voice in our industry."

"His legacy will live on."

Amber Group background

The former Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs trader was affectionately known as “TT”.

He was recognised as one of the power players in the crypto community in these early heady days.

Amber Group is based in Singapore, according to a August 2022 CoinDesk report.

The Amber Group website says it has a "presence in Athens, Geneva, Dubai, Hong Kong, Istanbul, London, Mexico City, Taipei, Tokyo, Vancouver, and Zurich".

The firm has over 300 employees in Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul and Vancouver, The Independent UK reported.

Temasek backed Amber Group in February 2022 in a US$200 million funding round.

That funding round valued Amber Group at US$3 billion at that time, and included other participants such as Sequoia China, Pantera Capital, Tiger Global Management, Tru Arrow Partners and Coinbase Ventures.

In the wake of the collapse of FTX in early November 2022, Temasek US West Coast head Martin Fichtner told Bloomberg that he was confident in the long-term performance of the sovereign wealth fund's portfolio companies when asked specifically about the valuations of FTX and Amber Group.

Amber Group said earlier in November 2022 that it was an "active trading participant" on the collapsed firm FTX.

In a statement on Nov. 9, Amber Group said in the wake of FTX's collapse: "While we have significantly reduced our exposure over the course of the week, we still have withdrawals that have yet to be processed."

However, the firm noted that the stuck assets represent less than 10 per cent of Amber Group’s total trading capital and did not “pose a threat to our business operations or liquidity” given that there were "strict exposure limits on individual trading venues".

Amber Group's main product is WhaleFin, a crypto trading platform.

What statement said

“It is with the deepest sadness and a heavy heart that we inform you of the passing of our friend and co-founder, Tiantian Kullander, who passed away unexpectedly in his sleep on Nov. 23, 2022,” the statement read.

The statement described Kullander as “instrumental to the founding of Amber and a pillar of our success”.

“He put his heart and soul into the company, in every stage of its growth. He led by example with his intellect, generosity, humility, diligence and creativity,” the statement added.

“TT was a respected thought leader and widely recognised as a pioneer for the industry. His depth of knowledge, his willingness to collaborate and his desire to always help others benefited countless start-ups and individuals.”.

“We lost a great partner and a true friend in TT and words cannot express our sorrow at this time,” said the Amber Group statement.

Amber Group raising money

Kullander set up Amber Group in 2017 with a group of finance insiders, including former Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Stanley staff.

News reports said Amber Group was in a bid to raise a further S$100 million earlier in November 2022.

In 2017, Amber Group’s founders had initially sought to apply machine learning to quantitative trading.

But they pivoted to crypto in 2019 when the trading volumes for the virtual currency increased.

The company cut 10 per cent of its staff in 2022 in the midst of the ongoing "crypto winter", where once sky-high valuations for digital asset companies have since taken a plunge owing to macroeconomic factors and the U.S. Fed raising interest rates.

Kullander had just told Bloomberg in September 2022 that it was "reducing in roles that are lower in priority given market conditions, and increasing headcount in roles that are higher priority".

Top photos via Amber Group & Tiantian Kullander Twitter