FTX's New CEO Aims To Revive Defunct Cryptocurrency Exchange: What You Need To Know

The defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which froze millions of users from accessing their accounts, could make a comeback under the leadership of its new CEO John Ray III.

What Happened: In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Ray said a task group has been formed to look into the viability of reviving the company's main international exchange, FTX.com.

Some users have praised the platform's technology and stated that it would be beneficial to reboot the exchange despite the fact that founder Sam Bankman-Fried and top executives Gary Wang, and Caroline Ellison have been charged with criminal activity.

“Everything is on the table,” Ray said to the Journal. “If there is a path forward on that, then we will not only explore that, we’ll do it.”

The exec also said that he will investigate whether restoring FTX's global exchange would provide greater value for the company's clients than asset liquidation or platform sale.

“There are stakeholders we’re working with who’ve identified what they see as a viable business,” he said.

Why It Matters: FTX's bankruptcy was the largest of several failures in the nascent crypto industry last year, the Journal noted, with other businesses like Celsius Network LLC, Voyager Digital Ltd, and BlockFi Inc. also using the Chapter 11 process to explore reviving their companies or selling their platforms to more powerful rivals.

Even if the reboot is successful, the outlook for FTX's customers remains uncertain.

Read next: Crypto Exchange FTX US Suffers $90M In Unauthorized Transfers After Bankruptcy