Andressen Horowitz believes in crypto despite the losses

Andressen Horowitz, a well-known US venture capital firm (a16z), has lost billions of dollars, becoming a major victim of the beat market, which has become increasingly common lately. 

Despite this, Horowitz continues to believe strongly in crypto. According to Chris Dixon, an executive at Andreessen Horowitz, it is important to focus on the activity of entrepreneurs and developers rather than on price swings. 

So, despite the downturns, the company remains committed to Web3, the crypto-centric vision of the Internet. 

Why Andressen Horowitz continues to invest in crypto 

Chris Dixon, General Partner and Chief Decision Maker on the firm’s crypto investments confirmed in comments published in the Wall Street Journal that he will continue to invest in digital assets, despite the losses.

Indeed, Dixon believes cryptocurrencies have a very long-term horizon, as the industry is still in the early stages of user acquisition.

In his view, the market downturn is an opportunity for the company to continue supporting crypto entrepreneurs. 

In fact, Dixon states: 

“What I watch is not the prices, but the activity of entrepreneurs and developers. That’s the really important parameter.”

In any case, Andressen Horowitz scaled back its blockchain strategy following the fact that its main crypto fund, launched in 2018, lost about 40% of its value in the first half of 2022. 

In Q3 2022, the company announced nine deals with crypto startups, compared to 26 in Q4 2021.

However, all in all, Andreessen Horowitz’s investments in cryptocurrencies have produced excellent results. 

In fact, the company made 10x profit from its investment in Coinbase in 2013, and 100x profit from its investment in OpenSea in 2021.

In addition, On 3 October, Horowitz provided $40 million in funding to Golden Protocol: Ali Yahya and Marc Andreessen, General Partner and Co-Founder of Andreessen Horowitz, respectively, joined Golden’s board of directors.

What is Andressen Horowitz and how it works 

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley, California, that supports bold ideas that build the future through technology.

The Andressen Horowitz company is one of the most established in the market, and despite the difficulties of recent times as a result of the market downturn, the services offered have always been impeccable. 

In fact, the company offers crypto economy, crypto assets and investment services. Not only that, it also offers fundraising and token distribution services, decentralized exchanges, stablecoins and crypto economic primitives. 

In addition, numerous crypto assets are offered, such as: non-fungible tokens, crypto collectibles, token curated registries, and curated marketplaces. Recently, the platform has also included a section with developer tutorials, practical guides and creator stories, among other resources. 

Horowitz invests long-term in all sectors such as tech, consumer, corporate, bio, healthcare, crypto, and fintech companies.

a16z has $19.2 billion in assets under management across multiple funds. Specifically, it includes a $1.4 billion Bio fund, a $3.1 billion crypto fund, and a cultural leadership fund. 

In addition to being famous in the Crypto market, a16z also has a fair amount of success when investing in large companies such as Facebook, Pinterest, LyA, GitHub, Instagram, Skype, etc.

a16z and Coinbase

In addition to Web3 projects, a16z is also famous for its investment in Coinbase, a prestigious crypto exchange. Coinbase’s IPO brought huge profits for a16z.

However, the number of projects in which a16z invests is carefully selected. In particular, Andressen Horowitz invests in Solario, today’s fastest and cheapest POS Layer 1 protocol; Avalanche, the structured Umbrella Platform, which enables DeFi applications, financial resources, transactions, and many other services; 

Internet Computer, Layer 1 blockchain protocol. ICP can manage and operate a data network with nodes running on servers around the world.

Nearby, Blockchain running with Public Proof of Stake and Sharded mechanism, high scalability and low cost.

CoinSwitch Kuber supported by a16z and Coinbase

One of the largest projects supported and invested in by both Andressen Horowitz and Coinbase is India’s unicorn crypto CoinSwitch Kuber. 

In fact, Indian cryptocurrency exchange CoinSwitch Kuber said it raised over $260 million with a valuation of $1.9 billion.

The round was led by venture capital powerhouse Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and the venture capital arm of Coinbase, a major cryptocurrency exchange. 

The round also included existing investors Paradigm, Ribbit Capital, Sequoia Capital India and Tiger Global.

The company was valued at over $500 million in its Series B funding round in April 2021, which brought it $25 million in investments.

This is also said to be a16z’s first investment in India.