John Ray, the newly appointed chief executive of the defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, is exploring the prospect of bringing the trading platform back online.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), he said that he had established a taskforce to investigate the possibility of relaunching FTX.com in order to “recover more value” for those who had lost money.
FTX had a market value of $32 billion (£26 billion) a year ago, but in November of that year, the company filed for protection under the bankruptcy law.
It has been believed that cash to the tune of $8 billion went missing.
The founder and former chief executive officer of the exchange, Sam Bankman-Fried, has been accused of scamming clients and investors in order to cover debts acquired by his cryptocurrency-focused hedge fund, Alameda Research.
He has entered a plea of not guilty to the allegations of fraud.
The fate of consumer monies, on the other hand, is now unknown.
Defeat on every level
According to the story in the WSJ, Mr. Ray is considering looking into the possibility of reviving the platform as an alternative to merely selling its assets or liquidating its assets.
The request for a reply from the BBC was not immediately met with a response from FTX.
Mr. Ray has previously expressed his displeasure with the management style of the defunct cryptocurrency exchange, stating that he had “never seen such a catastrophic lack of corporate controls.”
He said that what he had discovered since taking over FTX was “unprecedented” in his 40-year career, which included his managing the bankruptcy of the American energy giant Enron. He claimed this discovery came about as a result of his taking over FTX.
The term “crypto winter”
The failure of the exchange was one of the most significant events that occurred during what is being referred to as a “crypto winter” for businesses.
The first shocking event took place in May of last year and included the devaluation of two tokens held by Terraform Labs: Terra Luna and TerraUSD.
As a result of the decline, the market value of Bitcoin and several other cryptocurrencies, including $400 billion (£318 billion), was reduced.
By September, Interpol had issued a red alert to all of the authorities in the world, requesting that they bring Terra’s creator, Do Kwon, to justice.
The failure of FTX in November, which was one of the most significant exchanges and the entrance point for millions of consumers, brought the amount of turmoil in the cryptocurrency industry to a new level.
It was considered to be one of the most reliable platforms, but it went out of business in a matter of days when it was discovered that its financial situation was precarious.
Mr. Bankman-Fried, the creator of FTX, said the following in his last interview with the BBC before being arrested: “I don’t believe I attempted to do anything improper.”
In December, the 30-year-old man was extradited from the Bahamas, where FTX was headquartered, back to the United States, where he officially pled not guilty to allegations of defrauding customers and investors. The charges against him stem from the alleged theft of money from those parties. He was allowed to go free after posting a bond of $250 million while disputing the claims.