When we think of entrepreneurs, we think of visionaries. We think of risk-takers who can handle a great deal of pressure. They are smart, resilient individuals who will push the envelope. Those descriptions definitely fit Silver Koi co-founders Claire Chen and E. Choi. They exude all those characteristics and are using them to conquer the challenges of the NFT world.

Silver Koi has created a platform for secure and efficient trading of NFT derivatives. The platform that the two have developed tackles obstacles in the market by providing a perpetual exchange that improves capital efficiency and includes risk management. Users can trade perpetual contracts representing the value of NFT collections, and Silver Koi makes it accessible with minimal investment.

Some critics claim that the NFT market is just a trend. However, evidence to the tune of $9 billion in trading projections for 2023 and $24.7 billion in 2022 signals something different. Chen and Choi explain, "The market is maturing rather than regressing." Yemel Jardi, executive director of the Decentraland Foundation, agrees that the market will stabilize as more people become educated about NFTs and when there is a shift in focus.

Choi and Chen agree and, with their platform, aim to shift the future market focus from speculative trading to genuine utility and innovation. Silver Koi plans to broaden its derivatives support for digitized real-world assets, extending beyond NFTs to encompass luxury collectibles, real estate, equities, funds, and even commodities. The company's infrastructure design and risk control tools aim to provide investors with a safer and more efficient trading experience.

From Prestigious Academia to Bold Entrepreneurship

Silver Koi's co-founder Chen received the most prestigious national scholarship available in China, where she competed against 27 million students. After arriving in the United States, she completed her degree in just three years and received job offers from top companies like Meta and Citadel. Despite the smooth trajectory of her career, she surprised everyone with an unexpected decision. She made a complete 180-degree turn, opting to embark on a startup journey instead.

Co-founder Choi's background is equally impressive. His strong mathematical skills earned him admission into MIT, and he planned to go there, but a professor at Carnegie Mellon University reached out and said, "'Hey, come here instead. We'll pay for your school.' So I jumped ship." 

He received a full William McKnasters scholarship, which is only granted to two students yearly. 

He studied math and computer science, along with some computational finance.

The Team

Choi and Chen met when they were both working at the Citadel. "I have always had a really strong drive to be a founder. And he was looking for a different lifestyle and something challenging." The two had known each other for three years before they teamed up. Chen explains, "He has a solid technical background and works really hard. And then I think he thinks the same as me, too." In fact, Chen shares, "When we just started to work together, he mentioned that my drive is unlike anyone else's, And he believed that working together we could build something great."

Silver Koi Inspiration

Along with computer science, both Chen and Choi come from finance backgrounds. Chen had been looking into blockchain for a couple of years. "I thought the technology was very interesting. I started to think about doing a start-up in this area; I was just like, 'no matter what areas I pick, as long as technical-wise, I become better at it, and I learn more about how this environment works, it's going to be good for me. I believe the technology is going to last." Thus, the impetus for Silver Koi.

Chen explains, "I actually know a lot of professional traders. My friend used to be in a crypto hedge fund, and their portfolio went from $200K to $7 million in six months. And he was trading NFT professionally, full-time. He told me that right now, the solutions are too inefficient. NFTs are just too expensive." Chen explains, "Even if you have $1 million, you can only buy five NFTs." She adds, "There is no risk management at all. Imagine you buy one NFT today. The only thing you can do is sit there and hope the price will go up." That problem inspired Chen and Choi to develop Silver Koi. Choi shares, "With our team's deep experience in both tradfi and technology firms, we are well-positioned to address these challenges."

They aren't the only ones tackling these problems, but Silver Koi is much more accessible. "Our price oracle enables us to support a wide range of assets, including blue chips, mid-caps, and gaming NFTs." Their pricing algorithm is a game-changer. Likewise, Choi explains, "Our exchange design is notably distinct. We've designed our exchange with the aim of offering the lowest transaction fees and the fastest possible execution speed. Another significant advantage to Silver Koi is our extensive risk management tools, which our competitors lack." Silver Koi strives to provide an incredibly user-friendly solution, "People need to spend so much time searching for the individual NFTs they like, and they go to marketplaces to list their NFTs for sale; this process usually takes weeks to months or even longer. People don't have that kind of time."

Silver Koi's solution is getting noticed and gaining a lot of traction. "The market interest is clear. In a single day, we garnered hundreds of signups for our beta whitelist." They don't plan to stop adapting and persevering; it's not in their DNA. Chen declares, "Nothing will stop us from pursuing our dream. We are just getting started." And based on the evidence, you better believe it.