The biggest player in the crypto venture realm is back in the fundraising game. The blockchain division of Andreessen Horowitz, also referred to as a16z crypto, is currently raising its fifth fund, according to several sources who spoke with on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential business operations. One of the sources said the firm is aiming for around $2 billion and plans to conclude the fundraising by the end of the first half of 2026.
Under the leadership of a long – time investor and entrepreneur, a16z crypto launched its first $300 million fund in 2018, the year after a blockchain frenzy drove Bitcoin prices up to $20,000. Each subsequent fund has been larger than the previous one, reaching a massive $4.5 billion in 2022, from which the firm continues to make investments. Although the latest fund will be less than half of that amount, one of the sources said that a16z crypto is planning a shorter fundraising cycle to capitalize on how quickly crypto trends can change. The previous funds were all raised within one or two years of each other. (A16z crypto chief marketing officer Kim Milosevich declined to comment.)
The venture giant’s fifth venture into digital assets comes at a time when the crypto market is [missing description], despite a recent [missing description]. Bitcoin has [missing verb] by almost half since it hit an all – time high in October, and publicly traded crypto companies have seen their stocks [missing description]. Still, the industry is experiencing its most favorable regulatory environment in Washington, D.C., in its 17 – year history.
Read, write, own
When a16z established its first crypto fund, digital assets were still a new concept among traditional investors. However, the venture firm and Dixon guided institutional money into this area, and a number of other large firms soon followed suit, including Paradigm and Haun Ventures, which was founded by a former a16z crypto general partner. reported last year that Haun was raising $1 billion across two new funds.
A16z crypto has supported several successful projects, including the crypto financial services firm Anchorage, the prediction market Kalshi, and the decentralized exchange Uniswap. Nevertheless, other digital asset investors have examined the philosophy put forward by Dixon, as summarized in his 2024 book Read Write Own. Dixon has been an advocate of the “Web3” approach to crypto, arguing that blockchains can create decentralized versions of internet applications and infrastructure, from social media platforms to lending protocols.
However, many of these projects have fizzled out, including the a16z – backed Farcaster, which was developing a decentralized version of [missing description]. Farcaster decided to repay the full $180 million it raised from investors earlier this year after selling its infrastructure to another company.
Instead, the crypto industry has mostly shifted towards pure financial projects centered around stablecoins and tokenization, or offering blockchain – wrapped versions of other financial assets. Even long – standing crypto investors are making changes. Kyle Samani, the co – founder of the venture firm Multicoin Capital, [missing verb] from his company in February and said he would focus on investing in other tech sectors. And the crypto VC firm Paradigm, founded by Sequoia and [missing word] alumni, is raising up to $1.5 billion for a new fund that focuses on crypto as well as AI and robotics, as recently [missing verb] by the Wall Street Journal. A spokesperson for Paradigm declined to comment.
A16z crypto’s fifth fund will be entirely focused on blockchain investments, a source familiar with the fundraising told .
In a [missing description] on X, Dixon admitted that blockchain has entered its “financial era,” but refuted the claim that his “read write own” philosophy had failed. “Finance isn’t separate from the broader thesis; it’s part of it,” Dixon wrote. “It’s the foundation and testing ground for everything else.”
During its fundraising, a16z crypto has been actively involved in deal – making. Recent examples include a decentralized protocol called [missing name] that helps users collateralize their Bitcoin holdings, a cross – platform integration tool for prediction markets called [missing name], and a $50 million investment in the Solana staking protocol [missing name].