San Francisco-based crypto exchange Coinbase has opened an office in Chicago to be closer to the growing cryptocurrency markets, major investors, and what its executives call a deep source of talent.
Demand for Bitcoin and other digital currencies has been growing exponentially in recent years as they gain legitimacy around the world. And even though cryptocurrencies are still not widely used, Chicago's two largest exchanges - Mercantile Exchange and Chicago Board Options Exchange - became the first traditional exchanges to begin trading cryptocurrencies late last year, giving rise to the popularity of Bitcoin and its lesser-known digital cousins.
Coinbase is already one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world. Coinbase's Chicago office will become the center for technical support for the company's products, according to Paul Bauerschmidt, a former CME executive and now head of the Chicago division. Also, according to him, attracting people capable of building and maintaining such a complex system is a rather difficult task.
“You won’t find such talented people as in Chicago anywhere else,” he said. “And given the number of key personnel needed, I'm really pleased that Coinbase is building an office here.”
The Chicago office will also focus on attracting institutional investors who manage assets on behalf of others - banks, hedge funds, mutual funds or pension funds.
In conjunction with the opening of the Chicago office, Coinbase also introduced Coinbase Prime - a set of tools and servicescreated specifically for such investors. Bauerschmidt said the product will help investors get started with trading and make it easier to manage complex systems.
Currently, the Chicago office has six employees, but by the end of the year they plan to increase this number to 30, and after three years to have 100 employees.
According to http://www.chicagotribune.com
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