A16z crypto

Basics

• The newly created, dedicated crypto fund by Andreessen Horowitz
• Has a thesis on Progressive Decentralization which states that for any successful network product, achieving product/market fit should be prioritized before aiming for complete decentralization.
• Chris Blec sent out a letter on a16z's voting policies regarding Uniswap (29-6-2021). This came after a vote got passed where it became clear that a16z was the driving force behind it, without major community support.

Investments

• "Andreesen Horowitz's A16z is pivoting out of traditional venture capitalism and into higher risk assets like cryptocurrencies and digital assets; A16z recently registered all 150 employees as financial advisers, opening the doors to $1B in capital for riskier investments with less regulatory oversight "
• Anchorage. Has invested in and is using Anchorage for security. Part of a $80M fund raise (25-2-2021).
• Angle; took part in the $5M raise (28-9-2021).
• Celo has raised $30M led by Andreessen Horowitz's A16z

• Compound. Participated in a $25mil Series A for Compound (11-2019).
• dYdX raised $10M Series A led by a16z crypto and Polychain Capital

• Element Finance; took part in the $4.4M raise (1-4-2021). Reinvested in their Series A raise of$32M (19-10-2021).
• Fei Protocol; part of a $19M raise (9-3-2021).
• Goldfinch; led a $11M raise (22-6-2021).
• Handshake. One of the backers of a $10.2M token sale (7.5% of the supply) for Handshake (3-8-2020).
• Helium; led a $111M token sale (11-8-2021).
• MakerDAO. As one of their first investments it has purchased 6% of the total MKR token supply for $15 million USD. "The strategic purchase in Maker DAO is one of the first from a16z crypto, the newly created, dedicated crypto fund from Andreessen Horowitz. The move was driven by General Partner Katie Haun, an accomplished former federal prosecutor who led the first government task force on cryptocurrencies and also led the investigation into the Mt. Gox hacks and into the federal task force investigating Silk Road. “As a first mover and innovator in stablecoins, MakerDAO represents a very compelling opportunity in the crypto space,” said Katie Haun, “MakerDAO’s technology, ecosystem and talent have put theory into action to deliver a decentralized stablecoin that we believe will help drive the future of the crypto economy.”"

As part of this partnership, MakerDAO will receive operating capital through the next growth stage, 3 years of support for the MakerDAO community, and most importantly, full operational support from the 80+ person Andreessen Horowitz a16z team. Specifically, Dai Stablecoin adoption and regulatory support are two of the first priorities.

• Nansen; led a $12M raise (6-7-2021). Joined again in the Series B (16-12-2021).
• OpenSea; led a $100M raise (21-7-2021).
• Optimism; part of a $25M raise (28-2-2021).
• Synthetix. From DeFi Weekly #52 (27-11-2019): a16z invested $250k in Synthetix.
• TrustToken. Is backing TrustToken Platform and their TrueUSD stabletoken
• Uniswap. Was part of a $11M fund raise for Uniswap (7-8-2020).

Team, etc.

• Chris Dixon; leader at a16z