Andreessen Horowitz, top venture capital firm raised $300 million for its first-ever fund dedicated to crypto companies, Andreessen Horowitz announced on Monday. Over two to three years, it plans to put that money in everything from early-stage coins and tokens, to later-stage networks like Bitcoin or Ethereum, and will hold those investments for up to 10 years.
According to Chris Dixon, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, the firm is taking a long-term and “patient” approach in the space.
“We’ve experienced ups and downs in the cryptocurrency market, and expect there will be many more. There’s potential in the technology, and some of the downturns can be the best investments”, – said Dixon.
He described it as an “all-weather” fund that they plan to invest consistently over time, regardless of market conditions.
Dixon drew parallels to 2009 and 2010, when there was an influx of entrepreneurs and developers working on smartphone apps. Similarly he pegged crypto in 2018 as “one of those great times to invest.”
Andreessen Horowitz made its first investment in the space through Coinbase in 2013, and has yet to sell any of its investments in crypto. According to Dixon, for this fund, investment criteria are flexible and will range across different stages, asset types and geographies.
Andreessen Horowitz is also bringing on its first-ever female general partner, former U.S. Department of Justice federal prosecutor Katie Haun, to lead the new fund. Haun helped launch the Justice Department’s first government task force for crypto, and worked on the first high-profile cryptocurrency-related case, Silk Road. She is also on the board of directors of Coinbase and taught Stanford Law School’s first-ever course on digital currency and cybercrime.
Haun’s regulatory background should be especially helpful as start-ups grapple with how their cryptocurrencies could be seen by U.S. regulators.
“We want to see crypto move beyond the speculation phase and see it eventually solve real-world problems for millions or even billions of people,” – Haun said.
