As web3 expands, even the most crypto-native projects will have a hard time keeping up with the latest security best practices. We’ll help with that. I’m thrilled to announce
@riyazdf
and
@nassyweazy
have joined
@a16z
Crypto as our new CTO and CISO!
We believe that thoughtful web3 legislation & regulatory clarity will unleash innovation and keep the U.S. a tech leader. This is one of the few bi-partisan issues.
That’s why we’re thrilled to welcome Collin McCune as Head of Gov Affairs
@a16zcrypto
1/ In my experience working in crypto, I’ve observed that builders in this space prize experienced subject matter experts who share their values, set the bar for excellence high, are intellectually curious, and are open minded and creative.
I’m thrilled to share that
@MicheleKorver
will join
@a16z
crypto as our Head of Regulatory! She’ll be working with regulators/policymakers & founders to foster innovation and mitigate risk as web3 rapidly advances. 🎉🎉🎉
Last September, we welcomed
@BrianQuintenz
to the
@a16zcrypto
team as a Senior Advisor. Today, we’re excited to announce that he has started the full-time position as a16z crypto's Head of Policy. Full announcement here:
1/ This past year has been an incredible ride, joining a16z crypto & getting to know the founders building in this space. I’m excited and honored to now become the Chief Operating Officer of a16z crypto as we launch our new $2.2 billion fund.
2/ This is particularly valuable in lawyers. That’s why today, I’m thrilled to welcome
@milesjennings
— one of the most sought-after legal minds working in crypto — to the a16z Crypto team as our General Counsel.
Big news to share:
@a16z
is expanding to the UK 🇬🇧
We plan to open our first international office in London later this year, and will host the next Crypto Startup School there in 2024.
Why the UK? 👇
🇬🇧ANN: London office opening for Andreessen Horowitz.
I'm excited to officially open the
@a16z
office in London. I've moved here along with
@liz_harkavy
and
@jay_drainjr
More below (and photos from our launch event last night with
@bhorowitz
and
@cdixon
)
Today we are announcing a16z crypto Fund 4. We’ve raised $4.5B to invest in promising web3 founders and startups, bringing our total crypto funds raised to more than $7.6B. 💪
We’re excited to announce
@BrianQuintenz
, a former Commodity Futures Trading Commissioner, is joining as an advisory partner on our crypto team as part of our effort to ensure we have a world-class support system in place for policy and regulatory matters.
Super excited to join
@a16zcrypto
as Executive in Residence (EIR) and learn from some of the smartest brains in the business. Looking forward to helping out founders and builders scale their businesses. Let's build...
Today we’re thrilled to announce the launch of our new accelerator, Crypto Startup School.
The program will include:
Investment from
@a16zcrypto
($500k)
Mentorship from leading founders
Advice from domain experts
Network of fellow builders
Apply:
For the last 12 months I’ve been working on a book. I’m excited to talk about it for the first time today. 📘
Read Write Own: Building the Next Era of the Internet (March 2024, publisher: Random House)
Pre-order here:
Applications are now open for CSX Fall 2024 in New York City!
This is the first year that our Crypto Startup Accelerator (CSX) program – which provides expert guidance, capital, and resources for founders of early-stage crypto startups – will have two cohorts, one for Spring and…
1/ We’ve got some exciting news to share!
Applications for Crypto Startup School (CSS) Spring 2024 in London are now OPEN!
Ready to fast-track your crypto startup journey?
Apply here:
Learn more👇
🚨 ANN: I’m super thrilled to finally be able to announce this - I’m moving to the a16z crypto team and will be investing only in web3/crypto going forward.
Tomorrow is the last day to submit your application for our upcoming Crypto Startup School cohort. 📝
The application will be closing on Friday, October 20th at 11:59 PST.
Here are a few resources if you've been considering the program.
⬇️
1/ Today
@cdixon
and I shared with the
@a16z
crypto team that I will be launching my own fund focused on crypto and web3 early next year. The current crypto fund will be my last at the firm
Great news that
@a16z
– one of the world’s leading tech investment firms, is opening a new base here in London.
Another huge vote of confidence in the UK as a place to build and grow tech businesses of the future.
Read Write Own is
#9
on the New York Times Nonfiction Best Seller list, and
#25
on USA Today's Best-selling Booklist (which includes both fiction and nonfiction).
Thanks to everyone who bought the book. I wrote RWO to help more people appreciate the potential of blockchains for…
The recent Ripple court ruling, while a strong rebuff to the SEC’s broad attack on web3 and blockchain technology, only results in more uncertainty for entrepreneurs and builders. It’s time for Congress to act.
3/ I first got to know Miles when I joined a16z and needed a go-to lawyer for all things crypto. As we searched to find a lawyer who truly understood crypto and the legal framework within which it operates, it became clear very quickly that there was no one better than Miles.
Today we’re announcing the full cohort for CSX Spring 2024 in London
Our Crypto Startup Accelerator (CSX) Spring 2024 program kicks off this week, with the founders of 25 promising early-stage startups gathered in London. Over 10 weeks, they’ll learn from each other and receive…
It's time to build a better internet. Today, we're is announcing a comprehensive policy agenda for for the future of the web. It's a big deal. And that's not all...
Today, we're welcoming Jai Ramaswamy to
@a16z
crypto as Chief Regulatory Officer. Jai has the right combo of nuanced perspective, deep expertise, and diverse experiences to help our portfolio navigate the regulatory environment
I’m happy to share that
@jasonrosenthal
has joined
@a16zcrypto
as an operating partner. He’ll be helping our founders advance beyond the idea maze and become their best professional selves.
We’re excited to share that we’ve finalized the cohort for our upcoming Crypto Startup School!🎉
The program kicks off on March 7th.
We’d like to give a huge thank you to the 8,000+ teams who applied from all over the world.
Details on the incredibly impressive applicant pool:
Applications are now open for Crypto Startup School 2024, taking place this spring in London, UK.
Crypto Startup School is twelve-week accelerator designed for the specific needs of web3 startups, featuring lectures and mentorship from industry experts, talks from founders,…
Collin has spent a decade on Capitol Hill and joins us most recently from the House Financial Services Committee, where he served as Deputy Staff Director. His deep understanding of legislative issues and the crypto industry makes him an invaluable addition to our team.
It’s been five months since we opened applications for Crypto Startup Accelerator (CSX) Spring 2024 in London, and after reviewing and interviewing a huge pool of worthwhile candidates, we’re thrilled to announce that we’ve selected our final cohort of 24 early-stage companies.…
My new book is finally here -- published today in the U.S.! 🟧
I hope you pick it up, share it, debate it with me.
Looking forward to your feedback.
More editions in more languages coming soon.
1/ We are beyond honored to welcome Stacey Cunningham
@stacey_cunning
, former president of the New York Stock Exchange
@NYSE
, as an Advisor to Uniswap Labs.
At
@a16z
crypto, Michele will be working closely with the creators of web3 technologies to help them navigate regulation and flourish. I know she’ll continue to have an outsized, positive impact on web3 as a whole. Welcome,
@MicheleKorver
!
5/ Before long, it became clear that the only thing better than working with Miles as outside counsel, would be working with Miles in-house. We knew that given the right platform, his impact in this space could be even bigger and more profound.
1/ OK. So I have an exciting career update – after nearly 8 (!) years building a16z’s editorial operation (newsletters, websites, countless pieces & packages + ofc, my beloved podcast 💕) – I am joining the a16z crypto team (!!) to lead content.
Collin will work in a bi-partisan fashion with policymakers and their staff to help bring comprehensive web3 legislation and regulation to life.
He will start
@a16zcrypto
in early November.
Welcome to the team,
@CollinMcCune7
!
4/ He advised us and our portfolio companies and projects on a wide range of issues, always bringing a degree of understanding of the space that is hard to find. Our portfolio projects loved working with him and would reach out to him time and time again.
6/ Miles was most recently a partner at Latham & Watkins, where he had been the go-to, trusted advisor for countless startups and crypto projects, guiding them from incorporation through financings, acquisitions, token offerings and governance matters.
Today, we're announcing the creation of
@a16z
crypto research 💥
Research labs like DeepMind and OpenAI have elevated the field of AI to new heights.
We are setting out to do the same for crypto and web3 👇
Jared is just the real deal. Big brain, big ideas, big do-er. He dreams big and somehow gets it all done!! Am so excited he's joining us in an advisory capacity to help the crypto movement on the global stage 🔥🎯🏹🌟
1/4 Today,
@BrianQuintenz
and I published Part 4 of the
@a16zcrypto
“Regulate Web3 Apps, Not Protocols” series, in which we walk through the practical application of our framework for regulating web3 businesses (not software). 🧵👇
It takes a special intellect to stand out among crypto technologists, and we’re fortunate to have one of those people on our team. I’m happy to share that
@eddylazzarin
has been promoted to Chief Technology Officer for
@a16zcrypto
.
4/ This has been a fascinating moment in the development of crypto. Innovation is accelerating, which means policymakers should seek to incubate this technology here to harness the benefits for society. We’re looking forward to engaging in that conversation.
A lot of people have asked me recently what I think of the current market conditions and the impact on crypto and web3 - thanks to
@karaswisher
for having me on her podcast to discuss
Web3 startups and protocols are navigating a complicated and shifting landscape. They need a regulatory framework that doesn’t treat them as a monolith: differentiating between currencies, applications, protocols and other use cases.
This is a critical time in web3's history as policymakers in DC take a close look at the future of our industry. With the new Congress taking office in a couple of weeks, we’re thrilled Brian is starting today to lead our efforts on Capitol Hill & join our growing policy team.
Michele is perfect at building bridges and finding ways to benefit all stakeholders. She was the DOJ’s 1st dedicated expert on cryptocurrency prosecutions & was widely known as their “crypto czar” before joining FinCEN as Chief Digital Currency Advisor.
Nassim and Riyaz are phenomenal leaders with a proven track record in blockchain and infra. They’ve worked together for years: co-creating the crypto custody infrastructure for
@Novi
, co-leading security at
@Anchorage
, and much more.
As policymakers worldwide explore crypto legislation, they must consider that bad collateral is the root cause of recent collapses like Terra, not “algorithmic stablecoins.” My op-ed in
@ft
:
After 27 years in government and law enforcement, most recently as the Chief Digital Currency Advisor at FinCEN, I’m joining
@a16z
crypto as Head of Regulatory.
As part of our operating group, they’ll provide ongoing security/technical guidance to founders & projects we’re partnering with, while keeping our own operations secure as the
@a16z
Crypto team continues to scale.
We’ve been impressed with Michele’s deep understanding of web3 and unusually balanced approach to regulation. She’s passionate about the potential and importance of web3 technology, with an unwavering commitment to weeding out bad actors so we can build a better internet.
Last week’s
@POTUS
Exec Order demonstrates the US government recognizes the importance of web3 in retaining our country’s technological leadership and of striking the innovation/risk balance. It’s a promising start.
I wrote an oped in
@FT
.
My goal isn't to defend or to diminish memecoins.
It’s to point out the backward incentives of a regulatory regime in the US that lets only memecoins thrive — while companies and tokens with more productive uses face hurdles.
3/ I’m particularly excited to welcome Bill Hinman, Brent McIntosh,
@TomicahTD
, Alex Price and
@RachaelRad
to the a16z team — heavy hitters who will help our portfolio companies navigate the kinds of challenges and opportunities that new technology movements inevitably face.
2/ I’m very excited to lead this talented team of operational, legal and policy visionaries, who will have a huge positive impact in helping crypto move into its next phase.
🚨[new post] I wrote a little piece on how after many years of stasis and a mono culture, we are now in a period of rapid social media change - and one that is going to lead to more innovation , credibly neutral and open mechanisms and decentralization.