CoinFlip joins tenant roster at Chicago’s Old Post Office

CoinFlip, a Chicago-based operator of cryptocurrency ATMs that has seen rapid growth, joined Gov. J.B. Pritzker to announce Tuesday that the company is bringing its headquarters to the Old Post Office downtown.

It signed a lease for 44,000 square feet in the renovated landmark at 433 W. Van Buren St. Officials said the company will add at least 30 jobs to its current count of 138 Chicago workers.

The company will get a state tax subsidy valued at $1.68 million, said a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The credit under the EDGE program, applied over 10 years, represents half the state’s expected revenue from income tax withholdings for the new jobs.

Pritzker urged other CEOs and organizations to come to the state, saying “let me be clear — the future of cryptocurrency is in Illinois.”

He said the state is “open for business for everyone that wants to be in this industry. Already Illinois serves as a home base for 58 different blockchain and cryptocurrency organizations, and I’ll make it clear to any other CEOs who are out there, wanting to join our ecosystem: Our door is open. ... The fact that the world’s leading crypto ATM company is expanding its roots and personnel in Illinois is yet another boost to our bid to becoming the best.”

Ben Weiss, CoinFlip’s CEO, said their move to the Old Post Office marks the largest cryptocurrency lease here in the state of Illinois, cementing the company as “a homegrown company that was founded and built right here in Chicago.”

”Everyone who wants to participate in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology should have the opportunity to do so,” Weiss said. “Chicago, and Illinois, is a natural fit for both cryptocurrency, blockchain technology and tech in general, and we encourage any other companies that are thinking about moving their headquarters, or that are on the fence, to take a look at Illinois as the place to build a great business.”

The company has more than 2,700 ATMs across the country and said it has maintained a strong record of regulatory compliance. Crain’s Chicago Business named it Chicago’s fastest-growing company in 2021.

CoinFlip said the expansion represents a $17 million capital investment. It signed a 12-year lease that will double the size of its headquarters. A CoinFlip spokesman said it will retain a 20,000-square-foot office in West Town. He said the Old Post Office headquarters will open in the fall.

State officials said they expect continued growth in the cryptocurrency business, with an expected 25% increase in jobs by 2025.

CoinFlip will join other sizable tenants at the Old Post Office, including Walgreens, PepsiCo, Uber, Cboe Global Markets and, in another announcement earlier this month, Cisco Systems.

The state Commerce Department said Illinois is the fifth-largest cryptocurrency hub in the world, thanks to abundant fiberoptics and rapid growth of data centers needed to host networking equipment.

A bill, HB 3968, passed by the Illinois House and pending in the Senate would set rules for financial companies to deal in crypto-assets.