A16z's Largest Crypto Fund Loses 40% Value in First Half of 2022: Report

Andreessen Horowitz's (a16z) flagship crypto fund has cratered by a more than 40% loss in the first half of this year, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The venture capitalist firm established its fourth crypto fund in May - its largest yet at $4.5 billion, with over $7.6 billion being raised in total across all funds.

The new fund was formed during a lull in the cryptocurrency market, with the largest assets like bitcoin and ethereum shedding over 70% of their value since the fourth quarter of 2021. More speculative assets that focus on decentralized finance (DeFi) and Web3 have been hit even harder, with several losing more than 90% of their market caps in less than a year.

Andreessen Horowitz has been far less prolific in its investments this year, making just nine crypto investments in the third quarter of this year compared to 26 deals in the fourth quarter of last year, according to Pitchbook.

Chris Dixon, founder of a16'z crypto arm, told the Wall Street Journal that he remains unperturbed by the downturn in crypto prices.

“What I look at is not prices. I look at the entrepreneur and developer activity,” he said.

Read more: A16z Doesn’t Support Plan to Break Up DeFi Giant MakerDAO