As FTX’s recent collapse has some rethinking the future of cryptocurrency, Chicago startups in the space continue to get funding.
That’s true for cryptocurrency tech startup Coherence Finance Inc., a platform that lets users buy, sell and build their own crypto bundles.
The brainchild of Andrew Gunderman and fellow Ohio State dropouts, Coherence was built to help more people get into crypto buying, especially those who want to get into it but don’t know what to buy.
“Ultimately, the average person [is] going to start using something when it’s more convenient for them or when it solves their problems better than something else does,” Gunderman told Chicago Inno. “The answer for crypto isn’t to put out a ton of educational content. The answer is to build products that are easier for them to use.”
Coherence was featured in the Solana Riptide hackathon and recently landed a funding round led by Drive Capital, which is also based in Columbus. The amount of the funding round was not disclosed.
Rather than finding a home closer to OSU, however, Coherence decided to make Chicago its headquarters.
The company is located in Drive Capital office space in Fulton Market where there aren't a lot of crypto companies, so there’s not much direct competition nearby. But Coherence is still able to get involved in the city's growing crypto market, according to Gunderman.
“I think a lot of crypto companies are centered in very few cities, and Chicago is one of them," he said.
The company recently received SEC approval and plans to launch the app soon that will serve essentially as a roboadviser and provide a proprietary algorithm that advises retail investors on how to invest in crypto.
"The future has a lot of optimism, at least for Coherence specifically," Gunderman said. "A lot of our market is going to be trying to raise in this [down] market, and I think for us you’re going to have a lot of the competition die out. And when the market recovers we’re going to be in a really good spot."
He's also optimistic about all the institutional money coming into the market right now.
Goldman Sachs, for example, plans to spend tens of millions of dollars to buy or invest in crypto companies after the collapse of the FTX exchange, reported Reuters.
“When you’ve got all these institutions getting into crypto now, it’s going to bring so much retail trust, which is going to bring in retail dollars, and I think we’re going to be sitting there with open arms ready to get all those people," Gunderman said. "I see the long-term use for blockchain especially."
