CoinAlpha accumulates $3.5m

US-based blockchain technology developer CoinAlpha has raised $3.5m in seed funding from investors including Stanford University’s StartX Fund, Vator reported on Monday.
Bain Capital Ventures, an affiliate of investment firm Bain Capital, led the round with participation from Ironfire Ventures and  SharesPost.
Founded in 2017, CoinAlpha is developing financial services products such as hedge funds that use two protocols based on the Ethereum blockchain and cryptocurrency to make markets more transparent and accessible.
Blockchain’s function as a secure, decentralised record allows CoinAlpha to offer so-called smart contracts, where rules and obligations can be enforced without the need for a trusted third party.
CoinAlpha will partner SharesPost to create a cryptocurrency products index based on one of its protocols. It also has plans to launch a service called Cryptobaskets through its Malta-based subsidiary, and will use the funding for further development and recruitment.
Michael Feng, CEO of CoinAlpha and an alumnus of Stanford University, told Vator: “We believe that one issue with a lot of blockchain companies is that they are really fascinated by the technology, they want to build technology for technology’s sake…
“From our standpoint, maybe it is because we see how both closed and inefficient the existing financial system is, what motivates us every day is the ability to create technology that allows anyone to jump in that game and be a fund manager, to spend less capital starting a hedge fund.”