FTX CEO's Legal Billings Continue to Hint at '2.0 Reboot'

John Ray III billed just over 6.5 hours in his last cycle reviewing and working on what appears to be FTX 2.0 materials.

AccessTimeIconMay 23, 2023 at 5:02 a.m. UTC
Updated May 23, 2023 at 5:03 p.m. UTC

The new CEO of FTX, John Ray III, appointed to manage the disgraced exchange’s bankruptcy process, hinted in January that the exchange could be rebooted.

Now, new items on his latest billing report suggest there is work underway to do just that.

CoinDesk - Unknown
John Ray III Expense Filings (Kroll via Twitter)

Filings show that Ray spent 6.7 hours on items related to “2.0” which is thought to mean FTX 2.0, a reboot of the exchange.

To date, there is no evidence, aside from hypothetical statements, that there is a concrete plan to restart the exchange aside from internal sketches, though Ray has not ruled it out entirely.

“Everything is on the table,” Ray told the Journal in January. “If there is a path forward on that, then we will not only explore that, we’ll do it.”

In April, Andy Dietderich, FTX's lead attorney, suggested that the cryptocurrency exchange may potentially restart operations, an action that would require significant capital and might offer customers interest in the future exchange, though he stressed that this is one of many possibilities and decisions are far from final.

VC firm Tribe Capital has reportedly expressed interest in leading a funding round to restart the exchange.

However, industry insiders have casted doubts on the viability of such a plan due to persistent technical deficiencies, notably high latency, and software bugs, that plagued FTX from its inception and played a part in its financial collapse in 2022.

With all the work that would be required to bring fix FTX’s trading engine and other bugs, one could simply build a new exchange from the ground up – minus the baggage associated with the name.

FTX’s former token FTT is up 12% on the news, according to CoinGecko data. Should FTX be restarted, it’s unlikely that FTT would play much of a role as the Securities and Exchange Commission considers it a security.

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 a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.


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.


Read more about