a16z Archives | Protos https://protos.com/tag/a16z/ Informed crypto news Mon, 04 Nov 2024 18:38:52 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.6 https://protos-media.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/30110137/cropped-protos-favicon-32x32.png a16z Archives | Protos https://protos.com/tag/a16z/ 32 32 Andreessen Horowitz is already spending big on the 2026 midterms https://protos.com/andreessen-horowitz-is-already-spending-big-on-the-2026-midterms/ Mon, 04 Nov 2024 18:22:26 +0000 https://protos.com/?p=79157 a16z says it will be "contributing over $23M in additional funds to Fairshake and its affiliated PACs" for the 2026 midterms.

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Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), an important Silicon Valley venture capital firm, has announced that it will be “contributing over $23 million in additional funds to Fairshake and its affiliated PACs for the 2026 midterm election cycle.”

In the blog post announcing the move, the firm notes that it intends to support “legislators from both sides of the aisle who understand that crypto isn’t red or blue but is critical in ensuring America remains the leader in technology.”

Federal Election Commission (FEC) data compiled by OpenSecrets show that partners of a16z have contributed $44 million to the current election cycle. This is exceeded by $45 million in donations from Ripple and slightly over $45 million from Coinbase. 

A variety of other crypto industry participants have also donated to Fairshake, including Jump Crypto, Circle, and Kraken.

Additionally, Phil Potter, former Chief Strategy Officer of Bitfinex and Tether, has also donated, as have the Winklevoss Twins, Matt Huang and Fred Ehrsam of Paradigm, and Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures.

Read more: Crypto lobbyists are busy preparing for the 2024 election

OpenSecrets data summary states that this election cycle, the PAC spent approximately $14 million to support Democrats, around $13.5 million to oppose Democrats and $13 million to support Republicans.

a16z’s commitment to 2026 suggests that the crypto industry hopes to continue making support for it an important election issue. 

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Crypto’s most popular AI ‘bot’ Truth Terminal can’t launch its own website https://protos.com/cryptos-most-popular-ai-bot-truth-terminal-cant-launch-its-own-website/ Mon, 04 Nov 2024 18:02:03 +0000 https://protos.com/?p=79137 Despite many celebrating the dawn of AI-led digital assets, many mundane tasks to be carried out by AI bots require human intervention.

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While many crypto influencers are busy celebrating the dawn of AI-led digital assets and AI-managed hedge funds, their more observant counterparts have noticed that many of the most mundane tasks earmarked to be carried out by AI bots actually require human intervention.

Indeed, on Monday, crypto’s pre-eminent AI ‘bot’ — which received unbridled praise from supposed luminaries like Arthur Hayes after it led the memecoin GOAT to an $800 million market capitalization — couldn’t even launch a website.

According to Andy Ayrey, the crypto-trading AI bot he coded, Terminal of Truths, created a website and co-registered a domain name for memecoin Goatseus Maximus (GOAT). However, the bot didn’t do any of this.

Arthur Hayes says an AI launched a memecoin… that a human launched.

AI bot needs human to call customer support

The bot allegedly tried to register a domain name for the GOAT website via GoDaddy using Ayrey’s 2-factor authentication procedures. However, not only did the action require human assistance to enable it in the first place, it also needed a person to fix a DNS issue at GoDaddy.

Worse still, before a human arrived to save the day, a hacker apparently stole Terminal of Truths’ website and used it to steal money from unsuspecting victims lured by the bot’s marketing.

Ayrey is offended that someone thinks he is being disingenuous.

Read more: Marc Andreessen’s crypto-trading AI breakthrough is human-operated

It wasn’t the first time that this particular project has suffered an attack. After endorsements from a co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, Ayrey claims he lost access to his X account on October 28. A hacker then managed to attract $400,000 in crypto purchases into a scam posted to his account. 

After so many dubious statements about an ostensibly AI-trading and coin-creating bot that hasn’t technically accomplished those actions, some people were skeptical that Ayrey actually lost access to his X account.

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Marc Andreessen’s crypto-trading AI breakthrough is human-operated https://protos.com/marc-andreessens-crypto-trading-ai-breakthrough-is-human-operated/ Mon, 28 Oct 2024 17:50:13 +0000 https://protos.com/?p=78517 The crypto world is entranced by the dawn of supposed AI-managed hedge funds. Unfortunately, A16z and other humans are actually responsible.

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A new platform modeled after the degenerate Solana meme coin platform Pump.fun has the crypto community buzzing about the dawn of AI-managed hedge funds. In reality, humans are behind everything, including its first proof-of-concept: the purposefully misspelled ai16z fund endorsed by a real co-founder of a16z.

Analogous to greenwashing adding a veneer of ecological responsibility to an organization’s public image, AI-washing is spraying crypto projects with superficial sophistication. Although AI-branded altcoins have proliferated for months, this month’s debut of AI crypto trading funds suggests the trend is far from over.

Truth_Terminal kicked off this latest iteration of AI-washed marketing. Its owner kept his human decision-making quiet as he and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen encouraged public celebration of his non-existent AI-managed trades

Spotting success in misleading the public about the supposed advent of market-beating AI traders, Andreessen has now promoted a platform for creating AI hedge funds. Seemingly cloned from the Solana meme coin generator Pump.fun — that has always hidden its 99.99% failure rate — Daos.fun is a kickstarter for ‘AI-managed’ funds that are not actually managed by AIs.

In reality, humans trade meme coins with users’ funds instead.

Bleak descriptions of AI-managed crypto funds

Descriptions for supposed AI hedge fund managers are as dystopian as they are sardonic. The Daos.fun fund that Andreessen endorsed claims to be an “AI VC fund, fully managed by Marc AIndreessen,” the purposefully misspelled “greatest living VC.”

A fund entitled “Gaza Relief Fund” admits in fine print that “none of these funds are going to Gaza lol,” which is supposedly funny. Another misspelled fund, Sequoai Capital, “may or may not use AI to help make calculated bets.”

Comments from believers duly poured in. “First AI agent running a fund by itself,” chanted one user. “An AI agent that will trade on its own,” cheered another. Claims of “the first memecoin fund fully run by an AI agent” earned tens of thousands of views.

Of course, no fund on Daos.fun is actually operated by an AI. The creator and owner of ai16z is a non-AI human named Shaw. Truth_Terminal relies on the human discretion of Andy Ayrey who controls its funds, and no AI created or traded the GOAT memecoin as many were led to believe.

Daos.fun is careful to never claim that AI agents actually own or control any funds.

Even the largest AI-washed fund on the platform, ai16z, has lost two-thirds of its assets since yesterday. Briefly peaking around $96 million, investors in the AI-branded fund realized that most of its assets were its human creator’s own token, Shaw’s Degen Spartan AI token. The fund’s assets have fallen to $37 million as of publication time.

Read more: OpenAI tool used to create voice bot that can drain crypto wallets

AI-washing and regulatory obligations

Promoters of financial products like trading funds have immense legal obligations, may not promote securities offerings without filing public disclosures, may not transact with sanctioned entities, and have advertising, registration, and compliance obligations. 

Anyone who manages money on behalf of others in the US must adhere to fiduciary standards and strict regulatory requirements, including recordkeeping, licensure, and disclosure obligations.

As such, claiming that an AI agent somehow manages the funds even though a human controls the private keys of its crypto wallet is a gamble of wordplay.

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Chris Dixon offers NFT with his ‘bestseller’ — 264 of 5,000 have been claimed https://protos.com/chris-dixon-offers-nft-with-his-bestseller-264-of-5000-have-been-claimed/ Fri, 09 Feb 2024 17:39:10 +0000 https://protos.com/?p=60421 Read Write Own by Chris Dixon has somehow made the New York Times Best Seller list. But why does nobody care about the bundled NFT?

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While Chris Dixon and a16z may have skewed the sales numbers of his recent book, Read Write Own, what hasn’t been given as much time in the spotlight is the book’s NFT offering.

Paired with the newly minted web3-worshipping tome is a bookmark that contains a code allowing readers to redeem an NFT on OpenSea (one of the largest NFT marketplaces). The problem is no one seems to care.

Of the 5,000 NFTs that are up for redemption only 5% — or 264 — have been redeemed by readers. It’s difficult to match this with the fact that Read Write Own landed at number nine on the New York Times Best Seller list. To achieve such a prestigious status there’s no doubt that Dixon and a16z moved thousands and thousands of copies, physically, through ebook readers, and via audiobook applications.

So, why isn’t anyone interested in the NFT?

It’s hard to say since exact numbers on who purchased the books are unattainable, but there are at least two likely reasons. Firstly, bulk sales were likely almost entirely to a16z itself, which will slowly be gifting the books to partners and companies it invested in. Alternatively, many sales were organic, and simply no one cares about NFTs. Either way, it’s negative for Dixon and his thesis presented in Read Write Own.

Read more: Chris Dixon says a16z doesn’t sell its crypto tokens — portfolio disagrees

Major crypto companies partnered to work on NFT

The Read Write Own NFT project was a collaboration between a16z, IYK, Manifold, Dynamic, and Optimism — large and important companies in cryptocurrency. In that sense, one might expect that the NFT would be interesting and perhaps have some degree of usefulness. That expectation would be wrong.

Instead, the NFT is a copy of the cover of the book and when it’s redeemed it changes colors and the pixelated sun moves around. That’s it, no more, no less.

Regardless, while the future of blockchains, tokenization, and NFTs remains to be seen, it’s clear that Dixon’s attempt to predict it and get credited for it has fallen on deaf ears.

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Opinion: How a16z gamed the NYT Best Seller list https://protos.com/op-ed-how-a16z-gamed-the-nyt-best-seller-list/ Thu, 08 Feb 2024 17:16:54 +0000 https://protos.com/?p=60350 According to the NYT, Chris Dixon and a16z have attempted to present more sales than real demand -- a concept a16z is familiar with.

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Entrepreneur and Andreessen Horowitz partner Chris Dixon recently released a book espousing the benefits of the blockchain, NFTs, and web3, entitled Read Write Own — and it’s getting mixed reviews.

From the highly critical Molly White complaining that “Dixon fails to identify a single blockchain project that has successfully provided a non-speculative service at any kind of scale,” to the more commendatory by David Z. Morris calling it “an optimistic read,” it’s safe to say Dixons literary efforts are dividing opinion.

However, regardless of how you feel about a16z, Dixon, or the future of web3, what’s clear is that the book did some serious numbers in its first week on bookshelves and via ebook sales. Indeed, the nonfiction title sold more copies this week than Britney Spears’ autobiography, The Woman in Me, and slightly fewer than bestselling author Donald L. Miller’s Masters of the Air, landing at number nine on the New York Times (NYT) Best Seller list.

Unfortunately, the revered ranking comes with a very serious caveat, namely that the NYT itself suspects that the title managed to get ranked by gaming the system.

A dagger next to your Best Seller listing suggests that all might not be above board.

Read more: Chris Dixon says a16z doesn’t sell its crypto tokens — portfolio disagrees

The list only adds a ‘dagger’ to titles it believes have, in some way, attempted to present more sales than real demand, a concept a16z is extremely familiar with.

Marketing isn’t enough

Dixon went on a massive marketing blitz in the lead-up to the public release of Read Write Own, appearing on podcasts like the NYT’s Hard Fork and a16z’s own show. Clearly, the push wasn’t enough.

The NYT states that including a dagger on the Best Seller list implies “institutional, special interest, group or bulk purchases,” and that such a dubious distinction only comes after “proprietary vetting and audit protocols, corroborative reporting and other statistical determinations.”

While ensuring profits and positive results can easily be manipulated in financial markets, it’s nice to see that at least organic book sales are being monitored and, as usual, a16z is doing everything in its power to make things look far more optimistic and profitable than they actually are.

Congratulations to a16z and Chris Dixon — I hope it was worth it.

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Chris Dixon says a16z doesn’t sell its crypto tokens — portfolio disagrees https://protos.com/chris-dixon-says-a16z-doesnt-sell-its-crypto-tokens-portfolio-disagrees/ Mon, 29 Jan 2024 17:53:36 +0000 https://protos.com/?p=59359 a16z's Chris Dixon claimed that the firm would never invest in a token with a public token sale, but it seems it repeatedly did.

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Chris Dixon, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), recently appeared on the New York Times podcast Hard Fork where he defended his investment thesis and the investments of his firm. 

At one point during the interview, while defending Helium, Dixon made the claim, “No company we’re involved with — nor would we allow them to do this — sells tokens to the public.”

However, a review of the a16z investment portfolio raises serious questions about this claim.

Andreessen Horowitz invested in DFINITY, the firm behind internet computer tokens (ICP). Tokens were distributed to those who ‘donated’ to the DFINITY foundation.

It also invested in Fei, an algorithmic stablecoin protocol that failed the day it launched. Fei sold both the FEI token and the TRIBE governance in its Genesis Event. Since then, a court settlement has found that this was a sale of unregistered securities. 

A16z invested in Sky Mavis, the developer behind Axie Infinity, which sold the AXS token on Binance Launchpad. 

Dixon says NFTs aren’t tokens

Dixon apparently also does not consider Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) to be tokens because several companies that a16z has invested in have sold them to retail. These include VeeFriends, the firm Gary Vee uses to sell his NFTs.

Andreessen Horowitz also invested in PROOF, behind the PROOF Collective, and it auctioned those NFTs. 

Read more: Helium insiders owned majority of crypto tokens, Forbes reveals

Yuga Labs, the firm behind Bored Apes, also sells NFTs to the public.

It’s not clear what Dixon meant when he claimed that A16z investments would never be allowed to sell tokens.

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Web3 is the future of the internet — and a16z’s exit liquidity https://protos.com/web3-is-the-future-of-the-internet-and-a16zs-exit-liquidity/ Thu, 13 Apr 2023 10:53:23 +0000 https://protos.com/?p=36854 Amid falling returns and billions lost to scams, it's becoming increasingly difficult to take a16z's claims about web3 seriously.

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Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) continues to call web3 an “evolution of the internet” in its latest pitch deck. It cited supposed upgrades from web2, including the potential for democratized ownership of Internet properties. It claims this inevitable transformation will return power to the hands of users.

Of course, plummeting interest in web3 — 75% below its December 2021 peak per Google Trends — and plummeting returns for a16z’s web3 offerings suggests otherwise. A live tracker of web3 grifts totals $12 billion lost to scammers so far.

A prime example would be a16z’s flagship offering for decentralized social media, BitClout, which used a bonding curve to guarantee early insider enrichment. Now rebranded to DeSo because BitClout’s name was so despised, its token now languishes 94% below all-time highs.

Consider also a16z’s metaverse. Despite a market capitalization exceeding $1 billion in October 2022, fewer than 8,000 people used the largest web3 metaverse on an average day. Indeed, the majority of web3 land is never visited by anyone other than its creator.

Similarly, a16z was championing the idea of ‘play-to-earn’ games, heralding Axie Infinity’s 60,000-strong Filipino workforce as a shining example of a new era of web3 gaming. It also invested in Yield Guild Games and many other web3 projects.

Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of those Filipino workers lost their jobs months ago. Many are still indebted. Almost without exception, play-to-earn gaming tokens have lost most of their value.

Web3 as marketing buzzword

Some even question the existence of web3 as anything more than a marketing concept.

“There is zero proof that ‘web3’ exists, let alone that it would be some kind of new and better version of the internet,” Cory Klippsten, CEO of financial firm Swan Bitcoin, told Protos.

He added, “All we‘ve seen from a16z and their co-conspirators over the past five years are scheme after scheme to market useless tokens and sell them without ever achieving any kind of product-market fit for the associated project. They can make all the science-y sounding slides they like, but it doesn‘t change the fact that this once-venerable firm is all-in on the pump-and-dump business.”

Read more: The Metaverse and ‘Web 3’ aren’t even here and they’re already cringe

More failed promises from a16z’s web3 portfolio

Other supposedly decentralized properties in a16z’s portfolio also lost money to failures of centralized leadership. MakerDAO lost $7 million to an August 2021 hack. MakerDAO is also abandoning its original purpose of decentralizing a $1 stablecoin. Its founder wants to abandon the peg altogether and half of its core developers are quitting.

More recently, Mark Zuckerberg quietly abandoned most of Meta’s web3 initiatives after losing $24 billion on various product flops, including Horizon Worlds.

A16z promised a return to the community-driven approach with extra functionality. However, even if web3 were to return power to the people, it can backfire on its contributors. The Ethereum Name Service just booted its director of operations, Brantly Millegan, for controversial tweets from seven years ago. Millegan’s defenders failed to convince three of the four voters not to remove him from his position.

As the supply of a16z-backed tokens increases by the month, it becomes increasingly difficult to take a16z’s claims about web3 seriously. Certainly, web3 has been exit liquidity for its LPs in the past.

Got a tip? Send us an email or ProtonMail. For more informed news, follow us on TwitterInstagram, and Google News or subscribe to our YouTube channel. Quotes in bold are our emphasis.

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Why does a16z want to strengthen its grip on Uniswap? https://protos.com/why-does-a16z-want-to-strengthen-its-grip-on-uniswap/ Thu, 16 Feb 2023 13:17:14 +0000 https://protos.com/?p=34115 If it's true that a16z holds the rumored amount of UNI tokens, it would be able to unilaterally reach quorum for voting on Uniswap proposals.

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Venture capitalists at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) could control at least 41.5 million and likely over 55 million Uniswap (UNI) tokens. Globally, there are 753.7 million circulating UNI, and if a16z does indeed hold this number of tokens, it would allow the firm to unilaterally reach quorum for voting on Uniswap proposals.

Analytics provider Bubblemaps alleges that a16z controls 11 wallets with 41.5 million UNI. That figure surpasses a critical 4% threshold of UNI’s supply for voting purposes. Additional reporting by CoinDesk increases the estimate of a16z’s holdings to above 55 million, including the firm’s delegated holdings. What’s more, a16z retains the right to revoke that delegation and resume voting control over all 55 million tokens.

Read more: Binance denies using customers’ UNI for its own Uniswap votes

The founder of 0xPlasma Labs, Ilia Maksimenka, submitted a proposal to deploy Uniswap on Binance’s BNB Chain. Ilia reasoned that deploying the decentralized exchange on BNB Chain would enable Uniswap to gain a new audience and boost DeFi adoption. That proposal quickly became hotly contested.

DeFi analytics provider Treehouse highlighted that proactively adding Uniswap to BNB Chain would give Uniswap a competitive advantage over a possible competitor forking the code when an important license expires in April 2023.

a16z used 15 million tokens to vote against the proposal. Ilia’s proposed addition of Uniswap to BNB Chain would have used Wormhole as a designated bridge instead of LayerZero Labs. a16z had previously led a $135 million funding round in LayerZero labs.

a16z’s attempt to block the proposal failed, with 65.89% of overall votes in favor of the proposed addition of Uniswap to BNB Chain. Despite its failure, it highlighted the outsized influence that investment firms could have on supposedly decentralized apps.

Indeed, even Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) commented on the possibility that Uniswap may not be all that decentralized.

Read more: Uniswap votes to launch on Binance’s centralized BNB Chain

Delegated tokens may partially explain a16z’s failure to block the proposal. Uniswap makes it possible to delegate voting to another party. a16z had delegated about 25 million UNI to third parties that supported the proposal — likely against the VC firm’s wishes.

The failure to nix the proposal may not have sat well with a16z. Understandably, it suffered accusations of pumping UNI soon afterward. Some argued that buying pressure originated from a16z snapping up enough UNI to ensure that such an embarrassing failure doesn’t happen again.

a16z controlled 41.5 million Uniswap tokens at the time of the vote on Ilia’s proposal to deploy Uniswap on BNB Chain. It used the 15 million tokens in one of the wallets to vote against the proposal because it suggested using a competitor for one of the organizations in its portfolio.

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The crypto bets of a16z crumble, early investors still profit https://protos.com/the-crypto-bets-of-a16z-crumble-early-investors-still-profit/ Fri, 18 Nov 2022 17:32:44 +0000 https://protos.com/?p=30221 Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) sold crypto before the crash, leaving early investors with a return. But its four crypto funds are plummeting.

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By Q1 this year, venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz’s (a16z) flagship crypto fund had returned almost five times for early backers, according to documents reviewed by Semafor. The firm sold a portion of its tokens right before crypto’s bear market began in May, meaning that early investors are guaranteed a successful return.

The fund was launched in 2018 with $300 million raised. As of Q1 this year, it was worth $356 million.

A16z’s investment style differs from the traditional, Semafor reports. It receives a mixture of shares and ‘token rights’ from its hand-picked crypto companies, which means it can buy various crypto assets from these firms.

This allows a16z to sell tokens at scheduled intervals, helping the VC firm return funds to limited partners, insiders told the outlet. 

Still, a16z crypto funds aren’t having a great year

A16z first bet on crypto back in 2013, investing $20 million into crypto exchange Coinbase. When it went public in April of last year, the venture firm sold over half its stake, worth over $5 billion.

As of May 2022, a16z held a remaining 14 million shares, worth $953 million then — but only worth $650 million at press time. In that time period, the crypto market’s total value has plummeted by over 70%. And so far this year, Coinbase stock’s drop has resulted in a loss of 80% for a16z.

Its flagship fund reported a 40% drop by the end of Q2. Indeed, all four of a16z’s crypto funds have no doubt taken losses this year. 

A16z has long been on a crypto spending spree. In May, it launched its fourth crypto fund, it’s largest so far, with a casual $4.5 billion. Between July 2021 and June 2022, it invested in 56 crypto companies, including:

The average deal size during that time period ranged from $58 million to $220 million, depending on the type of investment (via Blockdata).

Read more: Crypto gaming’s shrinking market cap hasn’t scared off investors

These backings paid off when the market was up, yet has since resulted in losses. OpenSea experienced a 99% drop in trading volume since its peak in May. Two months ago, BAYC sold just 16 NFTs in a week.

Sky Mavis was hacked in June and reported $600 million worth of its native AXS token had been taken. It remains among the largest of an unprecedented wave of DeFi hacks this year.

Just last month, formerly renowned internet-of-things firm Helium, another a16z backing, was found to have given a majority of its native HNT tokens to just a handful of insiders, among various other wrongdoings. Some companies a16z recently invested in have collapsed entirely in the bear market. 

Read more: a16z dials back crypto investing as flagship fund gets rekt

Cory Klippsten, CEO at Swan Bitcoin, has been vocal about his concerns in the crypto industry, particularly when it comes to Ponzi schemes and altcoins. In an interview with Protos, he described how a16z’s aggressive marketing strategies differ from Bitcoin:

“Most Bitcoiners that promote Bitcoin are just buying and holding as much as possible — and people who love it the most are the people who never sell.

“It’s kind of the exact opposite of what you see with the likes of a16z: full frontal assault, marketing through all their channels, executing massive pumps after they bought a bunch of cheap Solana from the centralized team that controls it in the spring of 2021.

“They ⏤ and all their VC friends ⏤ were selling the top in late 2021, while claiming to the world that they were HODLing.”

Manifesting success with optimism

For this article, Protos asked Klippsten about a16z’s surprising returns to investors amid a crushing bear market.

“The returns don’t matter. They were generated via illegal and immoral activity. As people wake up to the truth about a16z crypto, [limited partners] are going to be embarrassed to be associated with them, and their [assets under management] will dry up.”

However, a16z says it remains steadfast in its longterm goals. Its crypto chief Chris Dixon is optimistic despite the flagship fund’s 40% drop in the first half of the year.

“We have a very long-term horizon,” Dixon said in an interview with Wall Street Journal. “What I look at is not prices. I look at the entrepreneur and developer activity,” Dixon said. “That’s the core metric.”

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a16z dials back crypto investing as flagship fund gets rekt https://protos.com/a16z-dials-back-crypto-investing-as-flagship-fund-gets-rekt/ Wed, 26 Oct 2022 15:29:57 +0000 https://protos.com/?p=28770 a16z has significantly slowed down investments in crypto firms, amid a bear market that has its flagship crypto fund down 40%.

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Crypto-loving Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has had a rough year, reporting a 40% drop in its flagship crypto fund in the first half of 2022 — yet execs continue to regurgitate unwavering loyalty to its crypto-long vision.

A16z has historically bet big on web3 and cryptocurrency. Its fourth and largest crypto fund, established in May to the tune of $4.5 billion, was perhaps the worst timing ever.

Amid a crypto bear market that began shortly after, a16z’s funds are down hard. Some of the major crypto startups that received funding from a16z have been wiped off the map; others are under regulatory scrutiny, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports.

First a16z crypto fund down 40%

A16z’s flagship crypto fund, established in 2018, is down 40% in the first half of this year, sources told WSJ — a major blow compared to other VCs that have invested in crypto as of late. Fund investors reported that a16z’s heavy investments in volatile cryptocurrencies played a role in the downturn.

Since 2018, the firm has launched three more crypto funds and bet big on web3. Its aggressive approach to investing in crypto startups like NFT marketplace OpenSea proved lucrative in a bear market but has now led to abysmal results. Sources reveal its other crypto funds have experienced declines, yet none as severe as its flagship crypto fund.

Read more: BAYC sells just 16 NFTs in a week as OpenSea dries up

Solana, bought by the firm in June 2021, is down 80% this year. Coinbase’s stock price is down over 80% over the same time period, resulting in a loss of $2.9 billion for investor a16z.

The firm has since tapped the breaks on its investment strategy. A16z announced only nine deals with crypto startups in Q3, compared to 26 made in the last quarter of 2021. Yet top crypto-loving execs like a16z partner Chris Dixon remain optimistic.

“We have a very long-term horizon,” Dixon said in an interview with WSJ. Crypto is still in its early stages and, as such, he remains hopeful that mainstream adoption will see a16z’s high stakes crypto bets pay off.

“What I look at is not prices. I look at the entrepreneur and developer activity,” Dixon said. “That’s the core metric.”

Businesses hated on a16z even in a bull run

While it’s almost certain that crypto will see another bull run, a16z’s appetite for crypto investments had begun to sit poorly with businesses even when the market was up. In March, sources revealed that Meta was considering ousting its longest-sitting board member and a16z co-founder Marc Andreessen, for continually investing in rival web3 businesses — many formed by ex-Facebook employees.

A16z was quick to deny the rumors and Andreessen has maintained his seat on the board, despite crypto chief Dixon openly sounding off on Meta. Following a $450 million funding round in Yuga Labs, Dixon told The Verge:

“To me, Yuga Labs, combined with these other emerging web3 companies, are an important counterweight to companies like Meta.

“There’s a dystopian future where Meta is this kind of dominant digital experience provider, and all of the money and control goes to that company,” added Dixon.

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The post a16z dials back crypto investing as flagship fund gets rekt appeared first on Protos.

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