New FTX Head Says Crypto Exchange Could Be Revived: Wall Street Journal
John J. Ray III made the comment in his first interview since taking over FTX in November.
/arc-photo-coindesk/arc2-prod/public/LXF2COBSKBCNHNRE3WTK2BZ7GE.png)
The new head of FTX is exploring the possibility of restarting the bankrupt crypto exchange, according to an interview he gave to the Wall Street Journal, his first since taking over at FTX in November.
John J. Ray III, who previously handled Enron’s restructuring, said that despite the accusations of criminal misconduct against former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and other executives, customers have lauded FTX's technology and said it could be worth reviving the exchange.
“Everything is on the table,” Ray told the Journal. “If there is a path forward on that, then we will not only explore that, we’ll do it.”
The FTX token FTT was trading up 33% on Binance on the news.
The decision would come down to whether restarting FTX's international exchange would recover more for customers than just liquidating assets or selling the platform, Ray said.
In the interview, Ray also criticized Bankman-Fried's comments to the media and elsewhere as being unhelpful. Bankman-Fried has said FTX did not need to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and has been critical of Ray's decisions.
“We don’t need to be dialoguing with him,” Ray said. “He hasn’t told us anything that I don’t already know.”
In a text message to the Journal, Bankman-Fried responded, “This is a shocking and damning comment from someone pretending to care about customers.”
In a tweet after the WSJ article was published, Bankman-Fried wrote that he was "glad Mr. Ray is finally paying lip service to turning the exchange back on after months of squashing such efforts!"
UPDATE (Jan. 19, 16:24 UTC): Adds details.
UPDATE (Jan. 19, 17:21 UTC): Adds Bankman-Fried tweet.
Disclosure
Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.
The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, institutional digital assets exchange. Bullish group is majority owned by Block.one; both groups have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary, and an editorial committee, chaired by a former editor-in-chief of The Wall Street Journal, is being formed to support journalistic integrity.
Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.