- FTX 2.0 is in the works and bidders are being reviewed
- A court filing shows that CEO John Ray III spent much of April working on rebooting the exchange
- A new FTX could arrive as soon as this year
FTX 2.0 is in the works and details are close to being publicized, according to CEO John Ray III. In a monthly staffing report to the court, Ray detailed his billing schedule for April which included various allusions to “FTX 2.0”, including the preparation of material surrounding the “reboot” and reviewing the bidder list for the exchange. This suggests that a new version of FTX could be coming in 2023, potentially within a year of its collapse, which would represent a remarkable turnaround.
Ray Speaking to Potential Investors
Ray first hinted that FTX could reopen as early as January, saying that there were “stakeholders we’re working with who’ve identified what they see is a viable business,” adding that, “If there is a path forward on that (a takeover), then we will not only explore that, we’ll do it.”
It was revealed last month that American venture capital firm Tribe Capital was considering a $250 million investment in an FTX reboot, a week after one of the exchange’s attorneys said that the early stages of a revival were being mapped out. This was in mid-April, right at the time when Ray’s timesheets suggest he would have been working on an FTX reboot:
FTX CEO John Ray III confirms FTX 2.0 plans. pic.twitter.com/FeCXOvdrt0
— FTX 2.0 Coalition (@AFTXcreditor) May 22, 2023
As we can see, on April 17 Ray was reviewing “next steps and comment on FTX restart”, and two days later he was reviewing and finalizing “2.0 reboot of exchange material for distribution.”
Exchange Could Relaunch Within a Year of Collapse
Of most importance perhaps is the reviewing of the bidder list, which took place on April 30. Clearly, FTX will need heavy investment to wipe the slate clean and start again, but having seen the amount of money that crypto trading can bring in there will be no shortage of bidders, with the FTX name still potentially being able to draw new users.
No date has been set for when FTX might reopen as talks are clearly in early stages, but given that bids are at the review stage and materials are being prepared for publication, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see FTX 2.0 launch around the first anniversary of its collapse.
