Going all in on crypto at the worst possible time, or how a16z's flagship fund lost 40% in value 🤯; Reddit may just have all the tools to take NFTs mainstream🔥; No blockbuster Blockchain IPO ❌
FinTech is Eating the World, 2 November
Hey Everyone,
And happy Wednesday! Yesterday’s issue was hot but today’s - oh, boy! We’re going to look at going all in on crypto at the worst possible time, or how a16z's flagship fund lost 40% in value (why this matters + future signals), Reddit that may just have all the tools to take NFTs mainstream (if you’re in NFTs, you have to steal this!), and no blockbuster Blockchain IPO anytime soo (I told you so back in April 🤷♂️). Let’s jump straight into the cool stuff:
Going all in on crypto at the worst possible time, or how Andreessen Horowitz’s flagship fund lost 40% in value 🤯
The news 🗞 You know a downturn is serious when the venture capitalists are hurting. Andreessen Horowitz aka a16z, one of the early movers into the crypto and blockchain market, has been hit with a blizzard in this crypto winter.
The firm’s flagship cryptocurrency fund lost 40% in value in the first half of the year, according to The Wall Street Journal. Yikes! 😳
More on this 👉 a16z had developed a reputation as Silicon Valley’s greatest crypto bull, thanks largely to Chris Dixon who was one of the earliest evangelists for how the blockchain technology powering cryptocurrencies could change the world. And he was walking the walk:
The company has raised more than $7.6B to invest in crypto and Web3 startups across 4 funds in 4 years, the most recent of which was also its biggest at $4.5B.
At the end of 2021, its first crypto fund saw nearly 11x paper returns on its investments, making it the best-performing fund in the firm's history.
Andreessen Horowitz returned over $4B of shares to investors after Coinbase went public, making it one of the most-lucrative bets ever made in venture capital history.
Now, everything is being shaken from the group up. Andreessen’s flagship crypto fund shed around 40% of its value in the first half of this year alone.
Why this matters? 🤔 It’s clear that a16z clearly didn’t pick the right timing to go all in on crypto and Web3. But there’s more to that.
Here’s a macro look at the industry in general, what it indicates about the future + the takeaway: