Hassan Maishera
Leading Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz has launched a $2.2 billion cryptocurrency fund. This latest development comes despite the current bearish trend in the cryptocurrency market.
Andreessen Horowitz unveils $2.2 billion crypto fund
A venture capitalist firm founded by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz announced the launch of its $2.2 billion cryptocurrency fund earlier today. The new venture fund would focus on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Katie Haun and Chris Dixon, partners who run Andreessen's cryptocurrency group, said the venture capital firm plans to take advantage of the numerous opportunities within the cryptocurrency market. "The size of this fund speaks to the size of the opportunity before us: crypto is not only the future of finance but, as with the internet in the early days, is poised to transform all aspects of our lives," the partners said.
Haun and Dixon pointed out that although cryptocurrency prices are volatile, the innovation in the market continues to grow in each bullish and bearish cycle. "We believe that the next wave of computing innovation will be driven by crypto," they added. The partners are confident of the huge potential within the cryptocurrency market.
Andreessen Horowitz already popular in the crypto space
Andreessen Horowitz is popular in the cryptocurrency industry. The VC firm has invested in several crypto startups over the years; most notable was its investment in Coinbase. The cryptocurrency exchange is now a publicly-listed company, and Andreessen Horowitz remains one of its leading shareholders.
The cryptocurrency market is currently in a bearish trend, with prices of most assets down by 50% from their all-time highs. Bitcoin rallied to an all-time high above $64k in April but has declined and is now trading around $34k per coin.
Despite that, Andreessen Horowitz is increasing its presence in the cryptocurrency industry. The firm is familiar with the bearish cycle in the crypto space after launching a16z, its first crypto-focused fund, three years ago during the bear market. Andreessen Horowitz has also invested in other interesting crypto projects, including OpenSea and Dapper Labs, powering the rise of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) in recent months.
