FTX 重启梦想因成本、复杂性和价值而破灭

FTX 破产律师和顾问花费了大量时间和资源来探索复兴 Sam Bankman-Fried 失败的加密货币交易所的可行性。尽管最初得到了债权人和潜在买家的支持，但 FTX 2.0 的想法最终被放弃，因为很明显该交易所的价值已大幅反弹。尽管债权人声称，自 FTX 倒闭以来，由于加密货币价格飙升，导致错失机会且赔偿不完全，但管理层认为，在不重启的情况下全额偿还客户是最可行、最公平的解决方案。

FTX Reboot Dreams Douse Amid Cost, Complexity, and Value Concerns

由于成本、复杂性和价值担忧，FTX 重启梦想破灭

The legal and advisory professionals guiding FTX's bankruptcy proceedings have concluded, after an exhaustive six-month exploration, that resuscitating Sam Bankman-Fried's collapsed cryptocurrency exchange is not a viable proposition.

指导 FTX 破产程序的法律和咨询专业人士经过六个月的详尽探索后得出结论，复兴 Sam Bankman-Fried 倒闭的加密货币交易所并不是一个可行的提议。

External observers might question the feasibility of reviving FTX, given its $8 billion balance sheet shortfall and the fraud charges leveled against its erstwhile executives. Yet, the notion of a rebooted exchange, informally dubbed "FTX 2.0," initially garnered support from prominent creditors and drew interest from dozens of potential buyers.

鉴于其 80 亿美元的资产负债表缺口以及针对其前任高管的欺诈指控，外部观察人士可能会质疑重振 FTX 的可行性。然而，重新启动交易所的概念（非正式地称为“FTX 2.0”）最初获得了知名债权人的支持，并引起了数十名潜在买家的兴趣。

As cryptocurrency prices surged in late 2022, the billions of dollars' worth of crypto assets still under FTX's control appreciated significantly, rendering it possible for the beleaguered company to repay its customers almost entirely. By ensuring a return of 100 cents on the dollar, FTX's bankruptcy management team can fulfill its mandate without resurrecting the exchange.

随着 2022 年底加密货币价格飙升，仍在 FTX 控制下的价值数十亿美元的加密资产大幅升值，使得这家陷入困境的公司几乎可以全额偿还客户。通过确保 1 美元的回报为 100 美分，FTX 的破产管理团队可以在不复活交易所的情况下完成其任务。

Some creditors, however, argue that the bankruptcy estate has squandered an opportunity to salvage value from the ashes of FTX, once a prominent crypto exchange.

然而，一些债权人认为，破产财产浪费了从曾经著名的加密货币交易所 FTX 的废墟中挽救价值的机会。

"They have destroyed billions of dollars in value," asserts Arush Sehgal, an FTX creditor who briefly consulted for Proof Group, one of the prospective buyers. "They had a thriving business, the No. 2 exchange in the world, and all they had to do was turn it back on. But they failed miserably."

FTX 债权人阿鲁什·塞加尔 (Arush Sehgal) 断言：“他们已经摧毁了数十亿美元的价值。”他曾为潜在买家之一 Proof Group 做过短暂咨询。 “他们的业务蒸蒸日上，是世界第二大交易所，他们所要做的就是重新启动它。但他们惨败了。”

Former customers lament that they will not be fully compensated, as they are set to receive only the cash equivalent of their crypto holdings as of November 2022, when FTX filed for bankruptcy. Bitcoin, the preeminent cryptocurrency, has since tripled in value, trading near $70,000, close to its record highs. Advocates of an FTX restart argue that customers should receive shares in a revamped exchange to mitigate this lost opportunity.

前客户感叹他们无法得到充分补偿，因为截至 2022 年 11 月 FTX 申请破产时，他们只能收到相当于其持有的加密货币的现金。自那以后，卓越的加密货币比特币的价值已上涨两倍，交易价格接近 70,000 美元，接近历史新高。 FTX 重启的支持者认为，客户应该在改造后的交易所中获得股票，以减少失去的机会。

John J. Ray III, the court-appointed CEO of FTX since its bankruptcy filing, maintains that his team explored every avenue to identify buyers or merger partners for the exchange, but the proposals received fell short.

自 FTX 申请破产保护以来，法院任命的首席执行官约翰·J·雷三世 (John J. Ray III) 坚称，他的团队探索了各种途径来为该交易所寻找买家或合并伙伴，但收到的建议却不尽如人意。

"In each instance, no credible investor was willing to provide sufficient value to offset the costs, delays, and other risks," Ray stated in a statement to The Wall Street Journal. "We did not receive a single meaningful bid for any intellectual property, as the code was outdated and the brand irrevocably associated with fraud."

雷在给《华尔街日报》的一份声明中表示：“在每种情况下，没有一个可信的投资者愿意提供足够的价值来抵消成本、延误和其他风险。” “我们没有收到任何对任何知识产权有意义的出价，因为代码已经过时，而且该品牌与欺诈有着不可挽回的联系。”

Bankman-Fried, scheduled for sentencing on Thursday, faces 40 to 50 years in prison for his role in FTX's implosion, which prosecutors have characterized as one of the largest financial frauds in U.S. history.

Bankman-Fried 定于周四宣判，他因参与 FTX 的内爆而面临 40 至 50 年的监禁，检察官将其定性为美国历史上最大的金融欺诈案之一。

The Journal conducted extensive interviews with bidders seeking to revive the crypto exchange, creditors involved in the process, and FTX's post-Chapter 11 management team to unravel the fate of FTX 2.0.

《华尔街日报》对寻求重振加密货币交易所的竞标者、参与该过程的债权人以及 FTX 第 11 章后的管理团队进行了广泛采访，以揭开 FTX 2.0 的命运。

Initially, it seemed unlikely that FTX customers could recover a substantial portion of their claims. Ray initially broached the idea of a restart in January 2023, expressing that "if there is a path forward on that, then we will not only explore that, we'll do it."

最初，FTX 客户似乎不太可能收回大部分索赔。雷最初于 2023 年 1 月提出了重启的想法，并表示“如果有一条前进的道路，那么我们不仅会探索它，我们还会这样做。”

Ray, a restructuring veteran best known for overseeing Enron's bankruptcy, lacked crypto experience prior to his FTX appointment. Throughout spring and summer 2023, he privately expressed doubts about the feasibility of a restart, citing concerns over regulatory approval and the intrinsic value of cryptocurrencies.

Ray 是一名重组资深人士，因监督安然公司破产而闻名，在任命 FTX 之前，他缺乏加密货币经验。整个 2023 年春夏期间，他私下对重启的可行性表示怀疑，理由是对监管审批和加密货币内在价值的担忧。

Nonetheless, FTX initiated a search for buyers in May. Behind the scenes, the unsecured creditors' committee, a common bankruptcy feature representing the interests of creditors, actively pushed for a restart. At FTX, this committee was predominantly composed of crypto firms, such as the algorithmic trading firm Wintermute Asia.

尽管如此，FTX 在 5 月份开始寻找买家。在幕后，代表债权人利益的破产常见特征无担保债权人委员会积极推动重启。在 FTX，该委员会主要由加密货币公司组成，例如算法交易公司 Wintermute Asia。

Friction emerged between the committee and the bankruptcy estate. Some creditors confidentially accused Ray's team of mishandling crypto transactions and moving too slowly on FTX 2.0. The bankruptcy estate denied any such disagreements with the committee over the 2.0 process.

委员会和破产财产之间出现了摩擦。一些债权人私下指责 Ray 的团队对加密交易处理不当，并且在 FTX 2.0 上进展太慢。破产财产机构否认与委员会在 2.0 程序上存在任何此类分歧。

By September, FTX announced that over 75 potential bidders had expressed interest. Three primary suitors ultimately emerged: Bullish, a crypto exchange led by former New York Stock Exchange President Tom Farley; Figure, a fintech startup; and Proof, a Silicon Valley investment firm.

截至 9 月，FTX 宣布已有超过 75 家潜在竞标者表达了兴趣。最终出现了三个主要追求者：Bullish，由纽约证券交易所前总裁 Tom Farley 领导的加密货币交易所；图，一家金融科技初创公司； Proof是一家硅谷投资公司。

Bidders primarily sought to attract FTX's former customers to their platforms. They envisioned becoming distribution channels for the digital assets that customers would eventually receive through the bankruptcy process, offering a compelling incentive to onboard these customers. Prior to its collapse, FTX boasted over one million users, including high-value "whales" akin to the top-tier gamblers at a casino.

竞标者主要寻求吸引 FTX 的前客户使用他们的平台。他们设想成为客户最终通过破产程序获得的数字资产的分销渠道，为这些客户提供令人信服的激励。在倒闭之前，FTX 拥有超过 100 万用户，其中包括类似于赌场顶级赌徒的高价值“鲸鱼”。

Bullish emerged as the perceived frontrunner. Farley's firm proposed payment in its own shares, offering FTX customers a stake of approximately 15% in Bullish, with a formula that increased the payout based on Bullish's performance. Additionally, Bullish planned to launch a market for digital tokens representing bankruptcy claims, further incentivizing FTX customers to join their platform.

看涨成为公认的领跑者。 Farley 的公司提议以自己的股票支付，向 FTX 客户提供 Bullish 约 15% 的股份，并根据 Bullish 的业绩公式增加支付金额。此外，Bullish 计划推出代表破产索赔的数字代币市场，进一步激励 FTX 客户加入其平台。

However, Bullish's proposed deal for FTX fell apart in December. Ray's team expressed disappointment that the FTX 2.0 bids were largely predicated on potential future revenue streams rather than tangible assets. They also felt it would be unfair to effectively coerce FTX customers into joining a new exchange. Moreover, the creditors' committee shifted its stance, concluding that finalizing a complex deal was not worth the time and expense.

然而，Bullish 提出的收购 FTX 的交易在 12 月以失败告终。 Ray 的团队对 FTX 2.0 出价主要基于未来潜在收入流而不是有形资产表示失望。他们还认为，有效强迫 FTX 客户加入新交易所是不公平的。此外，债权人委员会改变了立场，认为敲定一项复杂的交易不值得花费时间和费用。

Andrew Dietderich, a lawyer for FTX, disclosed the stalled reboot efforts at a January 31 court hearing. "The costs and risks of creating a viable exchange from what Mr. Bankman-Fried left in the dumpster were simply too high," he noted.

FTX 的律师 Andrew Dietderich 在 1 月 31 日的法庭听证会上披露了陷入停滞的重启工作。 “利用班克曼-弗里德先生留在垃圾箱里的东西创建一个可行的交易所的成本和风险实在太高了，”他指出。

Days later, Figure CEO Mike Cagney publicly shared details of his bid on X. His proposal involved merging FTX's customer base with a new exchange planned by Figure, to be partially owned by FTX creditors. "This proposal is worth $billions to FTX creditors and instantly establishes an owner-community for our exchange," Cagney tweeted.

几天后，Figure 首席执行官 Mike Cagney 公开分享了他对 X 的收购细节。他的提议涉及将 FTX 的客户群与Figure 计划的新交易所合并，该交易所将由 FTX 债权人部分拥有。卡格尼在推特上写道：“这项提案对 FTX 债权人来说价值数十亿美元，并立即为我们的交易所建立了一个所有者社区。”

Ray remained unconvinced. "The fairest thing we can do is prioritize returning as much cash as we can to victims, so they can decide what to do with it themselves," he asserted.

雷仍然不相信。他断言：“我们能做的最公平的事情就是优先向受害者返还尽可能多的现金，这样他们就可以自己决定如何处理这些钱。”

If you have any further inquiries, please contact Alexander Osipovich at alexo@wsj.com or Alexander Saeedy at alexander.saeedy@wsj.com.

如果您有任何进一步疑问，请联系 Alexander Osipovich（邮箱 alexo@wsj.com）或 Alexander Saeedy（邮箱 alexander.saeedy@wsj.com）。