- The recent market malaise has not dampened appetite for investments in the cryptocurrency space and marquee venture capital firm Andreesen Horowitz has just launched a US$4.5 billion fund to bet big on the future of blockchain technology.
- Despite the recent market crash, investors are still convinced in the long-term value of blockchain and cryptocurrencies but have grown more discerning of where that next leg of growth will come from.
Cryptocurrency prices may be continuing to slide but on the venture capital side of things, there appears to be no shortage of desire to bet on the next big thing in the Web3 space.
The recent market malaise has not dampened appetite for investments in the cryptocurrency space and marquee venture capital firm Andreesen Horowitz has just launched a US$4.5 billion fund to bet big on the future of blockchain technology.
According to Andreesen Horowitz, around US$1.5 billion will be set aside to seed investments, while the remaining US$3 billion has been earmarked for venture investments and is the largest cryptocurrency-focused fund to date.
Speaking with the Financial Times, Chris Dixon, managing partner and founder of Andreesen Horowitz’s cryptocurrency arm said the venture capital firm believed the space was entering a new “golden era” in which “new talent, viable infrastructure, and community knowledge” would spur rapid innovation, adding,
“We believe blockchains will power the next major computing cycle. That’s why we’ve decided to go big.”
Over in Singapore, that theme was echoed in the recent concluded successful US$100 million fund raise by crypto-focused venture capital firm NGC Ventures, which will be eyeing early stage Web3 projects, specifically those in DeFi, GameFi and NFTs.
Perhaps echoing the sage wisdom of legendary investor Warren Buffett, to “be greedy when others are fearful,” venture capital firms continue to find success in raising to double down on bets in the sector, but are also more selective in the specific sectors.
Despite the recent market crash, brought on by a combination of higher interest rates and the failure of algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD, investors are still convinced in the long-term value of blockchain and cryptocurrencies but have grown more discerning of where that next leg of growth will come from.
Cryptocurrencies dovetail nicely with Metaverse applications and blockchain games, in particular play-to-earn, which surged in popularity during the pandemic and venture capital firms have demonstrated an eagerness to back such projects, hoping to find the next Axie Infinity.
Axie Infinity arguably birthed the play-to-earn revolution in the blockchain space by providing an income to hundreds of thousands of players, particularly in emerging markets, who found that their income sources had dried up because of the pandemic.
