Key Takeaways
- • Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) announced a new $2.2 billion fund dedicated to investing in crypto networks and the founders building them, spanning seed-stage through later-stage projects.
- • a16z expanded its crypto team with former SEC Division of Corporation Finance Director Bill Hinman as advisory partner, and former Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs Brent McIntosh as advisory partner.
- • Anthony Albanese, who joined from the New York Stock Exchange last year, was promoted to Chief Operating Officer to lead operations.
- • The firm is building out regulatory, policy, marketing, and communications capabilities, and says it will deepen involvement in staking, delegating, running nodes, governance, and mechanism design.
Summary
Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) announced a new $2.2 billion fund to continue investing in crypto networks and the teams building them, according to the firm's announcement. The firm said it invests across all stages, from early seed-stage projects to fully developed later-stage networks. a16z described the fund as the beginning of a new chapter for its a16z crypto team, which it said was founded to bring together a crypto-native group that had not previously existed in venture capital.
The firm said it will continue to focus on behaviors its entrepreneurs expect from a crypto investor, including staking, delegating, running nodes, participating in governance, and designing mechanisms, and is expanding its data science and research teams to support this work. It also said it is adding expertise in marketing, public relations, policy, regulatory affairs, recruiting, and startup management to help translate crypto to the mainstream. Anthony Albanese, who joined the firm last year from the New York Stock Exchange, was promoted to Chief Operating Officer.
The announcement named several new hires. Bill Hinman, former Director of the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance, joined as an advisory partner; he led the SEC's early work on digital assets. Brent McIntosh, who most recently served as Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, joined as an advisory partner and previously managed the Financial Stability Board's initiative on digital assets. Tomicah Tillemann joined as Global Head of Policy, and Alex Price, co-founder and CEO of a quantitative research and trading firm acquired by Digital Currency Group's Genesis Capital, joined as an advisory partner. Rachael Horwitz, formerly Coinbase's first Vice President of Communications, joined as operating partner leading marketing and communications.
The firm cited the Coinbase direct listing and the rise of NFTs as signs of growing crypto adoption, while acknowledging that asset prices fluctuate. The announcement includes standard disclaimers stating the views are those of individual personnel and are not investment advice.
The firm said it will continue to focus on behaviors its entrepreneurs expect from a crypto investor, including staking, delegating, running nodes, participating in governance, and designing mechanisms, and is expanding its data science and research teams to support this work. It also said it is adding expertise in marketing, public relations, policy, regulatory affairs, recruiting, and startup management to help translate crypto to the mainstream. Anthony Albanese, who joined the firm last year from the New York Stock Exchange, was promoted to Chief Operating Officer.
The announcement named several new hires. Bill Hinman, former Director of the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance, joined as an advisory partner; he led the SEC's early work on digital assets. Brent McIntosh, who most recently served as Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, joined as an advisory partner and previously managed the Financial Stability Board's initiative on digital assets. Tomicah Tillemann joined as Global Head of Policy, and Alex Price, co-founder and CEO of a quantitative research and trading firm acquired by Digital Currency Group's Genesis Capital, joined as an advisory partner. Rachael Horwitz, formerly Coinbase's first Vice President of Communications, joined as operating partner leading marketing and communications.
The firm cited the Coinbase direct listing and the rise of NFTs as signs of growing crypto adoption, while acknowledging that asset prices fluctuate. The announcement includes standard disclaimers stating the views are those of individual personnel and are not investment advice.
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.