Cryptocurrency exchange FTX may be considering restarting in the future, according to the legal team behind the debtors.
In an April 12 hearing in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, lawyers with Sullivan & Cromwell representing FTX said the crypto firm had recovered roughly $7.3 billion in liquid assets. A March filing from the debtors reported the four FTX company silos had roughly $4.8 billion in scheduled assets as of November 2022, with an investigation into the assets ongoing.
According to the legal team, FTX will also consider restarting its crypto exchange operations sometime in the second quarter of 2024 — suggesting a reboot as early as April. FTX CEO John Ray was reportedly mulling reviving the bankrupt exchange in a January interview.
This is their "aspirational" yet "sensible" calendar for the debtors' plan pic.twitter.com/swqyRvTp7Q
— Molly White (@molly0xFFF) April 12, 2023
The price of the FTX Token (FTT) surged from $1.32 to $2.80 at roughly the same time lawyers announced the potential reboot of the exchange — an increase of more than 112%. The token price had largely stayed between $1 and $2 since the firm’s bankruptcy filing.
At the same hearing, the bankruptcy judge denied a motion that would have allowed the court to prioritize reimbursing former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried’s legal fees. He left the door open for SBF to present evidence to the court in the future regarding the motion.
“Frankly, I have zero evidence to establish cause here,” said Judge John Dorsey. “Mr. Bankman-Fried did not put out any evidence whatsoever as to the balancing of the equities here, what harm is going to occur to him. I don’t know what other insurance policies he has access to, I don’t know what other assets he has access to privately that would allow him to cover these costs and then recover them later under this policy.”
Related: SBF says Sullivan & Cromwell contradicted itself with insolvency claims
The bankruptcy court proceedings followed the debtors’ announcement that a Swiss court had granted a petition allowing the sale of FTX Europe AG, the firm’s European arm. FTX Europe AG, along with 133 other subsidiaries, was part of FTX’s Chapter 11 filing in U.S. bankruptcy court in November 2022.
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Update (April 12 at 6:17 pm UTC): An earlier version of this article said FTX would consider rebooting in the second quarter of 2023, which was incorrect. The correct year is 2024.