FTX CEO: Solicitation for interested parties to restart the FTX.com exchange has begun

Author: TOM MITCHELHILL, COINTELEGRAPH; Compiler: Songxue, Jinse Finance

Bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX is one step closer to relaunching with a brand new exchange.

According to a June 28 report by The Wall Street Journal, **FTX restructuring head John Ray said the company has “began to solicit interested parties to restart the FTX.com exchange.” **

The company has been in talks with investors about financing a possible restart, the people said. Blockchain lending firm Figure is one of the parties that has shown interest in the process.

Potential bidders reportedly have until the end of the week to submit an expression of interest - a document outlining the terms and conditions of their participation.

Notably, the source said **current FTX creditors may receive a stake in the restructured cryptocurrency exchange, among other forms of compensation. **

Importantly, “negotiations include possible compensation to certain existing customers, possibly by offering them a stake in any restructuring entity”.

We expect clients to earn recovery and/or equity tokens in FTX 2.0.

— FTX 2.0 Alliance (@AFTXcreditor) June 28, 2023

**FTX is not expected to be renamed “FTX 2.0” or any other derivative of its original name, but has chosen to rebrand it as an entity with a different name. **

Overall, **Ray and the rest of the FTX team seem to believe that a reboot is the best way to ensure the best possible outcome for creditors in terms of repayment. **

FTX’s legal team said in April that they expected the new exchange’s launch to be completed sometime in the second quarter of 2024.

According to a June 26 recovery process report, FTX still has a nearly $2 billion shortfall on its books. Efforts to recover these missing funds have been complicated by the alleged misuse of client assets by key FTX leadership.

Daniel Friedberg, a former FTX regulatory official, was indicted by FTX on June 27 for allegedly paying “hush money” to silence would-be whistleblowers and authorizing a series of fraudulent transfers and loans. Friedberg is believed to have appeared in an unnamed capacity in numerous legal proceedings.

The report on the missing funds also details a string of alleged investments in venture capital firms, a $243 million real estate portfolio in the Bahamas and substantial donations to nonprofits.