Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is starting a $300 million fund in crypto and blockchain—headed by Katie Haun, the company’s first woman general partner.
Haun is a former prosecutor with the US Department of Justice, and will lead the effort with investor, entrepreneur, and Andreessen Horowitz general partner Chris Dixon, a longtime crypto enthusiast.
The firm plans to invest in companies at all stages to spread out the investment, and will bet on blockchain; counting on its rising popularity for a long-term investment. The firm has funded big hitters like leading bitcoin exchange Coinase, and is now focusing more on foundation-layer protocols. They have been investing in blockchain since 2013.
Haun is excited to invest in applications that help people manage their personal data, aiming to “give power back to individuals.”
Click through to read more about Haun and the firm’s plans to invest in crypto and blockchain.
As the price of bitcoin slips to a 2018 low, top Silicon Valley venture firm Andreessen Horowitz shows it’s not backing down with the launch of a $300 million venture fund, called a16z crypto, which will invest in cryptocurrency companies and protocols.
Leading the effort alongside partner and crypto fanatic Chris Dixon is Katie Haun, a former prosecutor who helped bring down corrupt agents on the Silk Road task force, as well as the head of BTC-E, a digital currency exchange popular with criminals.
Haun is the first-ever female general partner at Andreessen Horowitz.
The new crypto fund will invest in companies and protocols at all stages, from seed-stage pre-launch projects to fully developed later-stage networks like bitcoin and Ethereum. The firm said it plans to hold investments for over 10 years, which means it cares a lot less about the day-to-day fluctuations in price than about building long-term platforms and infrastructure that it hopes will serve billions of people someday.
The plan is to invest consistently over time, even in the event of another “crypto winter.” Bitcoin fell below $6,000 on Sunday, reaching a new low for the year.
“We’ve been investing in crypto assets for five-plus years. We’ve never sold any of those investments, and don’t plan to anytime soon,” Dixon said in a statement.
Image credit: Andreessen Horowitz
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