a16zcrypto announced the creation of a new $2.2 billion fund in a blog post laying out its vision for the future of cryptocurrencies, from a “new financial system” to warnings about “opaque” AI. This is the company's fifth fund, bringing its total raised to date to $9.8 billion.
Additionally, the fund promoted CTO Eddie Lazarin to general partner, bringing the GP investment team to four people. Lazarin joins Chris Dixon, Ali Yahya and Guy Woollett. The fund has backed notable companies such as Coinbase, Kalshi, and Solana Foundation.
The timing of this news is a bit ironic, as it comes at a time when crypto trading is extremely depressed, the same day Coinbase announced it would lay off 14% of its workforce. According to a report by crypto data and news site CoinGecko, March was the month with the lowest trading volume across crypto exchanges since November 2023.
VC investment in cryptocurrency startups has also cooled, reaching nearly $5 billion in the first quarter of 2026, compared to nearly $6 billion in the same period last year, DLNews reported, citing statistics from cryptocurrency data site DefiLlama.
a16zcrypto partners acknowledge this. They describe how high crypto prices are attracting investment and startup enthusiasm, but write that “we are now in one of the quieter periods.” But they argue that much of what is built during downtime is “typically more useful than what we saw during the peak and more durable than what we saw during the trough.”
Regardless of whether the market is hot or not, VC funding exists for blockchain-related startups that can attract VCs. What founders have to overcome is that some of the biggest crypto VCs are now being seduced by AI startups. This is an area where valuations are skyrocketing.
For example, Paradigm, one of the largest and most prestigious crypto funds, is working on raising $1.5 billion in new funding to expand its themes into robotics and AI, the Wall Street Journal reported in February. Additionally, Y Combinator, which has produced many cryptocurrency and blockchain startups over the years, didn't ask for anything in its latest “requests for startups” list.
Earlier this week, former Andreessen Horowitz investor Katie Horn announced that her crypto firm Haun had also raised $1 billion in new funding to continue investing in the market. But she is also looking for AI agent technologies that intersect with cryptocurrencies/blockchain and fintech.
The latest a16zcrypto fund won't be seduced by hotter markets, a spokesperson told TechCrunch, promising to be “100% dedicated to crypto entrepreneurs.”
If you buy through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This does not affect editorial independence.