Key Takeaways
- • Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) announced a $4.5 billion fund for crypto and blockchain companies, its fourth dedicated crypto fund, bringing its total crypto and blockchain capital raised to $7.6 billion, according to CNBC.
- • The fund would be the largest in the crypto industry, overtaking the $2.5 billion raised by Paradigm in November, and more than double a16z's prior $2.2 billion crypto fund, per the Financial Times.
- • The firm plans to deploy capital into both crypto tokens and company equity, and said it would keep its investment pace high while focusing on top-tier founders.
- • The announcement came during a crypto downturn, with bitcoin down more than 50% from its November peak and crypto prices tightly correlated with growth tech stocks.
- • Reporting places the announcement in May 2022, shortly after the collapse of the TerraUSD stablecoin; the crypto fund's timing was framed as a counter-cyclical bet.
Summary
Andreessen Horowitz announced a $4.5 billion fund for backing crypto and blockchain companies, according to CNBC. The Silicon Valley venture firm described the vehicle as its fourth fund for the asset class, lifting its cumulative crypto and blockchain capital raised to $7.6 billion. The Financial Times reported that the combined funds would be more than double the size of a16z's previous $2.2 billion crypto fund. Per the reporting, the new vehicle would surpass the $2.5 billion Paradigm raised in November as the largest crypto fund in the industry.
The firm intends to invest both in cryptocurrencies behind projects and in company equity. General partner Arianna Simpson told CNBC that bear markets often present the best opportunities, when builders can focus on technology rather than short-term price moves. She said the firm's diligence process remains rigorous, and that while its investment pace has been high, it continues to back only the top tier of founders. Simpson and partner Chris Dixon have framed crypto as the next major computing cycle, following PCs in the 1980s, the internet in the 1990s, and mobile computing in the early 2000s.
The fund launch comes amid a sharp downturn in digital assets. CNBC reported that bitcoin was down more than 50% from its November peak, and that crypto remained tightly correlated with higher-growth tech stocks, which had also slid that year. The collapse of the TerraUSD stablecoin earlier that month had shaken investor sentiment and drawn regulatory attention. CNBC also cited CB Insights data showing blockchain startups raised a record $25 billion in venture capital the prior year, up eightfold from the year before, indicating that private capital flows remained strong even as token prices fell.
The firm's portfolio includes earlier crypto and NFT investments such as Coinbase, Alchemy, Avalanche, Dapper Labs, OpenSea, Solana, and Yuga Labs. Critics of Web3, including Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey, have questioned whether venture investors would ultimately control such networks; Simpson rejected the skepticism, arguing that many critics benefited from closed Web 2.0 platforms.
The firm intends to invest both in cryptocurrencies behind projects and in company equity. General partner Arianna Simpson told CNBC that bear markets often present the best opportunities, when builders can focus on technology rather than short-term price moves. She said the firm's diligence process remains rigorous, and that while its investment pace has been high, it continues to back only the top tier of founders. Simpson and partner Chris Dixon have framed crypto as the next major computing cycle, following PCs in the 1980s, the internet in the 1990s, and mobile computing in the early 2000s.
The fund launch comes amid a sharp downturn in digital assets. CNBC reported that bitcoin was down more than 50% from its November peak, and that crypto remained tightly correlated with higher-growth tech stocks, which had also slid that year. The collapse of the TerraUSD stablecoin earlier that month had shaken investor sentiment and drawn regulatory attention. CNBC also cited CB Insights data showing blockchain startups raised a record $25 billion in venture capital the prior year, up eightfold from the year before, indicating that private capital flows remained strong even as token prices fell.
The firm's portfolio includes earlier crypto and NFT investments such as Coinbase, Alchemy, Avalanche, Dapper Labs, OpenSea, Solana, and Yuga Labs. Critics of Web3, including Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey, have questioned whether venture investors would ultimately control such networks; Simpson rejected the skepticism, arguing that many critics benefited from closed Web 2.0 platforms.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.