andreessen horowitz

Andreessen Horowitz Names New York Stock Exchange’s Top Regulator to Head Its Cryptocurrency Unit

Andreessen Horowitz venture capital firm has tapped the current head of the New York Stock exchange (NYSE)’s regulatory unit as its new chief regulatory officer to spearhead its thriving cryptocurrency division.

Anthony Albanese, as the new chief regulatory officer at Andreessen Horowitz, will take the position that would focus on cryptocurrency portfolio companies in social media, payment systems, digital storage, gaming, creative marketplaces, and many more.

According to the Wall Street Journal report, Albanese is set to join the Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm in mid-November. Albanese becomes the latest regulator to join a company active in cryptocurrency markets, where regulations are still emerging, and several crypto-related businesses operate in a legal gray area. His role would involve outreach to regulators and assisting in shaping strategy for Andreessen Horowitz’s cryptocurrency projects.

Before serving as the chief regulatory officer at the NYSE, Albanese was the superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS) when he helped to introduce BitLicense for cryptocurrency companies in 2015. Such work experience makes him understand issues regarding drafting regulations and standards for the crypto industry.

During his tenure at NYSE, Albanese left a legacy of being a tough and strong enterprise leader who does not hesitate to punish traders for small rule violations. He, therefore, has a proven professional work experience that makes him a valuable human capital at the venture capital firm that launched its crypto fund project in 2014.

Last year, Andreessen Horowitz made a bold move by becoming a registered investment adviser, after obtaining a legal approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), thus gives the venture capital firm more flexibility to invest in things like cryptocurrency projects. Andreessen Horowitz is one of the earliest venture capital firm believers in blockchain and cryptocurrency technology.

Since 2014, the venture capital firm has been directly investing in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether as well as other crypto-inspired businesses like Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange, MakerDAO stablecoin developer, Compound cryptocurrency lender, Celo mobile payments startup, Anchorage cryptocurrency custodian, and many other crypto projects in the United States.

Image source: Unsplash

NFT Trading Platform Giant OpenSea Raises $100 M in Series B Funding, Becoming Next Crypto Unicorn

The well-known NFT trading platform giant OpenSea announced the completion of a $100 million Series B financing and officially joined the crypto unicorn track.

Reportedly, the financing was led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). Other investors include hedge funds and private equity firm Coatue, former Disney president Michael Ovitz, Co-Founder and Chairman of Eventbrite Kevin Hartz, CEO & Co-founder of Figma Dylan Field, famous NBA star Kevin Durant, American actor Ashton Kutcher, and the founder and CEO of Shopify Tobi Lutke.

The financing did not disclose the specific purpose of use. However, the company stated that its direct mission is to provide the best market for the creation and establishment of NFTs and to help establish systems and standards that can transform all types of digital wealth into a truly possessive and freely exchangeable form, stating that:

“OpenSea’s broader mission is to turn the internet from an information transfer machine into a value transfer machine.”

According to a Forbes report, the funds raised this time will be used to develop the team and establish multi-chain support and provide customers with a smoother experience.

The OpeaSea team said that in the announcement:

“we’re officially announcing cross-blockchain support, starting with a gas-free marketplace on the Polygon blockchain. Buyers no longer have to pay blockchain fees when making trades on OpenSea, and creators can fully earn their way into crypto for the first time.”

The B round of financing is the largest financing. The peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace for crypto collectables and non-fungible tokens (NFT) OpeaSea is valued at about $1.5 billion, becoming the latest crypto unicorn-referring to the establishment of fewer than 10 years valuation of $1 billion technology startups that are not listed on the stock market.

The well-known cryptocurrency mining giant Bitmain in the United States and the recently completed $900M round of financing of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, etc., are currently well-known cryptocurrency unicorn companies.

This is not the first time Andreessen Horowitz has invested in OpenSea. On March 18, OpenSea, a notable digital marketplace for crypto collectables, completed an investment led by a16z with a total value of $23 Million.

So far, OpenSea has raised $127.2M in funding over 5 rounds, including this round of financing.

Helium Network Raises $111M through Token HNT Sale, Hitting a Three-month High

The Helium network, supported by Andreessen Horowitz, raised $111 million through the sale of its native token (HNT). HNT token rose by 25.78% within 24 hours, and the price hit a three-month high.

The decentralized peer-to-peer (P2P) 5G wireless network received a total of $111 million in financing from venture capital giants such as Andreessen Horowitz, Ribbit Capital, mobile operators’ eSIM service provider 10T, Multicoin Capital, and Alameda Research, according to Bloomberg report.

The funds raised this time will be used to accelerate the launch of Helium’s 5G network that provides Internet access and expand the use of mobile network operators and mobile virtual network operators.

Ali Yahya, the general partner of Andreessen Horowitz, stated that the Helium network expands its unlimited coverage by rewarding wireless devices powered by the Helium blockchain that can mine its network token HNT——This move will “challenge centralized incumbents” and will also become a strong rival in the current telecom market.

Ali Yahya added that:

“Helium is transforming the way we connect to and scale wireless networks globally.”

After the news was released, the price of HNT surged from a low of $14.03 to an intraday high of $18.14. At the time of writing, HNT was trading at $18.10.

Helium network, founded in 2013, is the world’s first peer-to-peer LoRaWAN wireless IoT network, also known as “The People’s Network”.

Helium’s expanding hotspot network, as of August 10, the network has 119,036 nodes running on the Helium network, most of which are concentrated in the United States, Europe, and China. The addition of large organizations such as Andreessen Horowitz also confirms the future development of the network in the future.

As reported by Blockchain.News on July 21, the well-known NFT trading platform giant OpenSea announced the completion of a $100 million Series B financing led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and officially joined the crypto unicorn track.

Andreessen Horowitz Hires Former CFTC Commissioner Brian Quintenz To Bolster Regulatory Expansion

A16z, the cryptocurrency arm of leading venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, has announced that it has hired former commissioner of the US CFTC, Brian Quintenz, to advise the firm on policies about crypto investments.

Andreessen Horowitz general partner Katie Haun talked about the development and said the appointment is part of a broader effort to ensure the firm has support in place for regulatory and policy matters.

“We are grateful that Brian is joining the team to help in our work of translating crypto for the policy community. He understands both how crypto technology works and how the CFTC thinks about the issue. His ability to translate between the two will be central to the success of a16z’s Crypto policy program and our portfolio companies.” Haun said.

In the new role, Quintenz will be joining many former US federal regulators currently working for Andreessen Horowitz, including former senior advisor to President Biden Tomicah Tillemann, former Under Secretary of the U.S. Treasury Brent McIntosh, and former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission official Bill Hinman.

The move by Andreessen to hire such prominent, former regulators signals that the venture capital firm is stepping up to navigate better the emerging regulatory challenges in the U.S. cryptocurrency scene and to meet the more aggressive demands of the US regulators this year.

SEC Ready Regulate Crypto

Andreessen Horowitz is a leading venture capital firm that has been investing in several major cryptocurrency firms, including Uniswap, Solana, Robinhood, CryptoKitties, Coinbase, Earn.com, among others. In recent years, a16z, which is recognised as one of the most influential venture firms globally, has made several investments in the cryptocurrency and decentralised finance (DeFi) space.

In May, Andreessen Horowitz was looking to raise a fund of as much as $1 billion from investors to invest in cryptocurrencies and crypto startups.

Quintenz’s hiring comes at a time when U.S. financial regulators are considering regulating the fast-growing cryptocurrency sector.

US financial regulators are preparing to take a more active role in regulating the $1.5 trillion cryptocurrency market as concerns grow that a lack of proper oversight risks harming investors and consumers.

Earlier this month, the US SEC started investigating the largest DeFi exchange, Uniswap, to look into how investors use the exchange and how the platform is marketed.

Two days ago, Coinbase got the SEC’s attention. On Tuesday, September 7, Coinbase CEO Brain Armstrong went public with the battle, stating the SEC has now picked his company’s proposed lending product. Coinbase wants to launch a yield-generating product called Coinbase Lend to compete with popular decentralised (DeFi) products like Compound and Aave. But the SEC claims that the product “Coinbase Lend” is security and would therefore sue Coinbase if it goes ahead and launches the Lend program.

Coinbase exchange and decentralised exchange Uniswap are some of A16z’s most notable investments.

Andreessen Horowitz to Raise $4.5B for Two New Crypto Funds

Wallet Street Venture Capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz (a16Z) is rallying investors for a $4.5 billion dual fund targeted at making strategic investments in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

According to the Financial Times, $3.5 billion is billed to be earmarked for its newest cryptocurrency enterprise fund, while $1 billion will be reserved for strategic investments in crypto startups seeking seed funding.

The Silicon Valley-based Andreessen Horowitz plan’s to secure the funding by March which will nearly double the firm’s previous crypto fund of $2.2 billion.

While Wall Street may be waking up to the potentials of the cryptocurrency industry, Andreessen Horowitz has long been backing innovations and promising startups in the emerging world. As Blockchain.News reported, the firm tapped the services of the head of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)’s regulatory unit, Anthony Albanese as its new chief regulatory officer while also spearheading its thriving cryptocurrency division as far back as 2020. Former Coinbase vice president of communication, Kim Milosevich, also join a16Z as the chief marketing officer.

If the firm is able to pull the funds as reported, it will be the biggest funds raised in the digital currency world, a record that is currently being held by Paradigm Capital, a joint venture between Coinbase’s Fred Erhsam, and Sequoia Capital’s Huang, which pulled $2.5 billion in funds to back startups in the fast-growing cryptocurrency ecosystem in November last year.

While the a16Z’s plans have not been made public yet, the company is well known for a related fundraiser in the ecosystem. The company pulled $2.2 billion from investors back in June last year to create the Crypto Fund III, the largest at the time.

Renowned for being one of the early investors in big multinationals such as Meta Platforms Inc (formerly Facebook Inc), Twitter, and Coinbase Global Inc, Andreessen Horowitz has also made headlines for backing projects like OpenSea, CryptoKitties, and Helium amongst others. With the metaverse and NFT related innovations taking momentum at present, the proposed $4.5 billion will surely be put to very good use.

Andreessen Horowitz Appoints FinCEN Exec Michele Korver as Head of Regulatory

Andreessen Horowitz, a U.S. Venture capital firm, also known as a16z, announced Tuesday for the appointment of Michele Korver, an official at the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), as the company’s new head of regulatory.

Korver has served over 25 years in government and regulatory roles and is recognized as one of the leading federal prosecutors in cryptocurrency. The government and law-enforcement veteran recently served as the chief digital currency advisor at the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), advising on digital asset policy. Korver spent less than nine months at FinCEN when she joined the agency in July 2021 after almost four years working as a digital currency counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice.

Horowitz hires Korver as the venture capital firm to continue pushing into crypto and web3. “It is hard to imagine someone better positioned to navigate and help shape the rapidly evolving web3 regulatory landscape. Korver will work with companies building products in the web3 space,” a16Z mentioned in a statement.

Korver talked about her new appointment via Twitter, saying: “I’m now excited to join a16z crypto and work directly with web3 projects to help them thrive in a rapidly-developing regulatory environment. a16z crypto was an early supporter of crypto and web3, and I’ve long admired their team and the visionary entrepreneurs they’ve backed. It’s clear to me that web3 and its underlying crypto technology can solve critical challenges of national importance.”

Helping Firms Investing Crypto and Web3 Projects

In January, Andreessen Horowitz announced that it plans to raise $4.5 billion in a fundraising round to support start-up projects related to blockchain and Web3 technology. The venture capital firm said that it would raise $3.5 billion for its crypto venture fund, which will be used to invest in crypto start-ups and projects seeking investment for initiatives. The company also planned to allocate another $1 billion; a fund focused on investing in new Web3 projects.

A16z has been an early and leading investor in numerous cutting-edge technology projects. In the past, prominent venture capital companies invested in crypto firms, including Protocol Labs, Polychain Capital, Opensea, Coinbase, Solana Labs, and Uniswap.

Founded in 2009, a16z currently manages more than $30 billion in assets in multiple funds across several sectors. The firm was one of the first major investors in companies such as Skype, Facebook, and Twitter.

The V.C. company has had little trouble raising substantial funds from major institutions eager to develop innovative projects to disrupt traditional financial institutions.

If a16z manages to attract investors to raise $4.5 billion, then it would become a company with the biggest venture fund in the industry, surpassing Paradigm’s $2.5 billion in November 2021.

Image source: a16z.com

Former a16z Partner Katie Haun's Crypto VC Fund Raises $1.5 Billion

Former federal prosecutor Katie Haun’s crypto venture capital fund has raised $1.5 billion to invest in crypto-related startups.

Haun, Andreessen Horowitz’s first female general partner, announced Tuesday to complete a $500 million early-stage fund and another $1 billion for more established startups focused on web3 after leaving a16z in December,

Still, Haun said in an interview that：

“it’s not a bad time to deploy a crypto fund” despite those challenges. The extreme volatility is reminiscent of the first two crypto funds I deployed. What I learned from those funds is that great founders and great projects are going to be built in every cycle.”

Haun said her funds will be deployed for at least two years “and invest in digital tokens and equity in areas ranging from decentralized financial applications to NFTs and so-called decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).”

“I did not fit the mold of the traditional venture investor,” she said in the interview. “I think we need more people who don’t fit the mold. I think web3 really needs those voices.”

Haun Ventures is currently a team of nine, with a roster that includes Sam Rosenblum, who was a general partner at Polychain Capital, and Chris Lehane, who was previously on the executive management team at Airbnb.

In addition, plans to expand the team size.

Lehane, chief strategy officer at Haun Ventures, said he would focus on partnering with different promising cryptocurrency startups, crafting relevant battles to make their products more mainstream, and addressing regulatory issues early.

Fintech Firm Cross River Raises $620M Funding, Led by Eldridge & a16z

CRB Group, Inc., the parent company of fintech company Cross River Bank, announced a $620 million investment led by Eldridge and Andreessen Horowitz.

The funds raised will be used to build the company’s leading embedded payment, card, lending and crypto solutions Furthermore, to invest in people and communities, continue its international expansion plans and strengthen strategic global partnerships.

Gilles Gade, Founder, President and CEO of Cross River said that:

“Cross River is powering the future digital economy and changing lives by reinventing the way financial services are accessed. The quality of the investor group and size of our latest funding make this a landmark transaction in the financial technology arena, and will enable us to accelerate the growth of Cross River as the foundation of modern finance.”

Other investors include Rowe Price, Whale Rock and Hanaco Ventures.

Cross River currently provides loan and payment services to more than 80 payment companies, including Affirm, Best Egg, Checkout.com, Divvy, Freedom Financial, Pay.com.

a16Z to Establish Crypto Research Lab

Wallet Street Venture Capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz (a16Z), announced establishing its own crypto research lab to conduct blockchain-related academic research.

Led by Tim Roughgarden, adjunct professor of computer science at both Stanford and Columbia, and Dan Boneh, professor of computer science and electrical engineering at Stanford, the lab will combine academic theory and practice to address the environmental problems currently caused by the crypto industry as a whole Discuss and experiment with corresponding solutions.

Andreessen Horowitz said that:

“The crypto and Web3 sector has emerged as a new frontier in technology, and it has matured into an independent field of knowledge that brings together elements of computer science, economics, finance, and the humanities.”

a16Z has rallied investors for a $4.5 billion dual fund targeted at making strategic investments in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Binance Joins Elon Musk in His Twitter Bid with $500m Equity Funding

Binance cryptocurrency exchange has joined Elon Musk’s Twitter Inc takeover bid with a $500 million equity contribution.

The contribution was highlighted as part of the related contributions from other venture capital firms as part of the updated Schedule 13D that was filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The Schedule 13D document is a compulsory filing that is required of any investor who takes up more than a 5% equity stake in a particular firm. The filing showed that the free speech agenda of Elon Musk has garnered so much support from more venture capital firms in the U.S in particular. Besides Binance’s contribution, Andreessen Horowitz was shown to commit $400 million to the cause, while Sequoia Capital invested $800 million to become a part of the owners of the social media giant.

As the document showed, Lawrence J. Ellison Revocable Trust is the biggest contributor, with an equity investment of $1 billion. With Elon Musk at the helm of affairs of the new Twitter social media platform, a lot of changes are expected as the plans to transform the company are in top gear.

While a number of critics have labelled the acquisition of Twitter for $44 billion as a bad deal for Musk, seeing the firm does not command as much profit as its peers, Musk has gathered come off as someone who believes in a greater cause than returns control of free speech to the world citizens.

With the immediate plans to take Twitter private, Elon Musk is foreseeing at least a 2-3 years transformational cycle for the company, after which it plans to retake the firm public. During this time, Elon Musk has outlined plans to turn over the firm’s profitability by charging companies to use the service, one of the plans he has been mulling.