Andreessen Horowitz Is First VC To Raise Large Crypto Fund

Andreessen Horowitz is now the first venture capital firm to raise a large fund focused on cryptocurrencies.

The Silicon Valley investment firm announced the launch of a16z crypto, a $300 million venture fund that will invest in crypto companies and protocols.

“Our fund is designed to include the best features of traditional venture capital, updated to the modern crypto world,” wrote General Partner Chris Dixon, who added that Andreessen Horowitz has been investing in crypto assets for more than five years. “We’ve never sold any of those investments and don’t plan to any time soon. We structured the a16z crypto fund to be able to hold investments for 10+ years.”

The company’s crypto investments will have access to the same 80+ person operating teams as its non-crypto investments. Those employees have extensive experience in executive and technical recruiting, regulatory affairs, communications and marketing and general startup management.

Dixon went on to reveal that the company also has an “all weather” fund so that it can continue investing aggressively despite market conditions. It also intends on investing in crypto at all stages, from seed stage pre-launch projects to fully developed networks like bitcoin and Ethereum.

“We’ll invest in traditional financial instruments like equity or convertible notes and new instruments including the direct purchase of coins/tokens,” wrote Dixon. “Crypto is a global phenomenon, with great projects all around the world, and we’ll invest accordingly.”

In addition, Andreessen Horowitz announced that Katie Haun, a former prosecutor at the Department of Justice, has been hired to help manage the fund, making her the firm’s first female general partner.

Haun led some of the most prominent enforcement actions in crypto, including the Justice Department’s investigation of Mt. Gox, a bitcoin exchange that shut down after a massive theft.

“We learned that the same qualities that enabled her to graduate from Stanford Law with honors, clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, and testify before Congress were in full effect in the hypercompetitive startup world,” wrote Co-Founder and General Partner Ben Horowitz.