Following the recent revelation that FTX debtors and bankruptcy administrators located $5.5 billion in liquid assets, FTX’s new CEO John J. Ray III discussed the business in his first interview since taking over the bankruptcy process. Stock market restructuring. Ray detailed during the interview that he is open to the possibility of reviving the now defunct digital currency trading platform.
FTX CEO John J. Ray III Explores How to Revive Failed Crypto Exchange
FTX’s new CEO and Chief Restructuring Officer (CRO), John J. Ray III, conducted his first interview since the company filed for bankruptcy on November 11, 2022. Ray told the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that there may be value in restarting the crypto exchange, stressing that “everything is on the table.” Ray’s interview followed a recent press release and presentation by FTX’s bankruptcy team and debtors, which were published to inform the unsecured creditors’ committee.
“If there’s a way forward (by rebooting FTX), then we’re not just going to explore that, we’re going to do it,” Ray told the publication.
The filing with the unsecured creditors’ committee showed that $5.5 billion in what are known as “liquid assets” had been discovered. However, the definition of “liquid” that applies to the locked SOL stash and FTX Token (FTT) cache is debatable. In addition to the $5.5 billion discovered, the bankruptcy team detailed that another $4.5 billion could be raised by selling subsidiaries and trading FTX’s real estate in The Bahamas. Ray said there are stakeholders that debtors are working with who “have identified what they see as a viable business.”
FTX’s new CEO addresses tensions with former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, criticizes Inner Circle’s ‘spending spree’
Ray also spoke about the former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), as FTX’s new CEO has reportedly stayed away from the disgraced FTX co-founder. “We don’t need to have a dialogue with him,” Ray told the WSJ. He hasn’t told us anything I don’t already know. However, The WSJ received a response from SBF, who called Ray’s comment “shocking.”
“This is a shocking and damning comment from someone pretending to care about customers,” SBF told the WSJ. Ray sees things differently than SBF and the restructuring director even criticized the co-founder’s Excel balance sheet theory. “This is the problem,” Ray told the WSJ interviewer. “He thinks everything is one big pot of honey.
Ray revealed that he hadn’t seen anything like FTX in his entire career in corporate restructuring. “They went on a spending spree,” Ray emphasized. “Sometimes there were no purchase agreements, or the agreements were not signed,” added the FTX CEO. Once again, SBF denied claims Ray made that the co-founder thought things were like one big pot of honey.
“Mr. Ray continues to make false statements based on non-existent calculations,” SBF told the WSJ in a text message. “If Mr. Ray had bothered to think carefully about FTX US, he probably would have realized that his interpretation is wrong. totally inconsistent with bankruptcy law and also that even if one were to subtract $250 million from my balance sheet, FTX US have *still* been solvent.”
SFB added:
Rather, Mr. Ray sees everything as one big pot of honey, one he wants to keep.
Ray doesn’t agree with SBF at all, and despite the FTX co-founder saying countless times that he would like to help creditors, Ray believes that SBF is being deceitful and causing more harm than good. Pointing out that SBF’s text message statements are false, Ray insisted that it is “unfortunate because people continue to be victimized at this time.” The new CEO of FTX added: “They are victims of misinformation… It is harmful.”
FTX exchange token, FTTjumped in value on the news stemming from Ray and his belief that there may be a chance to revive the defunct trading platform. FTT shot up 35% to $2.48 per unit, after trading at $1.71 per unit before Ray’s interview was published.
What do you think of Ray’s first interview since the FTX restructuring process began? Share your thoughts from him in the comments below.
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