Bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX is moving ahead with efforts to restart its main international exchange FTX.com, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Wednesday.
FTX Begins Process to Reboot
According to the report, FTX’s new chief executive John J. Ray III said the company “has begun the process of soliciting interested parties to the reboot of the FTX.com exchange.”
Citing people familiar with the discussion, WSJ stated that FTX is holding preliminary talks with investors about backing a potential restart of FTX.com through structures including a joint venture. Moreover, the report added that the exchange would likely be rebranded as part of the restart.
The preliminary talks include possible compensation for certain existing customers, possibly by offering them stakes in the reorganized platform, according to the report.
Investors could finance the potential reboot as they are already expressing interest. According to WSJ, San Francisco-based blockchain technology firm Figure has indicated an interest in backing the restart. Other interested parties are required to notify the company and its advisers this week.
While the process to restart FTX.com is underway, the company hasn’t shown any signs that its U.S. exchange, a relatively small part of its business, would relaunch.
FTX Bankruptcy
FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last November after facing a liquidity crunch due to its founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) allegedly using customers’ deposits on the platform to prop up his trading firm Alameda Research. SBF is currently facing federal criminal charges – ranging from wire fraud to money laundering – related to the collapse of the exchange.
Ray said in January that despite the alleged criminal conduct at FTX, customers and other stakeholders praised the exchange’s technology and suggested that there would be value in rebooting the platform.
Meanwhile, FTX native token, FTT, rose by nearly 40% to trade at $1.7 since news of the potential restart broke out. However, the token has lost around 90% of its value since the company’s Chapter 11 filing.
