Crypto venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is doubling down on blockchain investments despite a prolonged market downturn, reportedly seeking to raise $2 billion for its fifth dedicated crypto fund. According to sources cited by Fortune, the firm aims to close the fundraising round by mid-2026.
The new fund is significantly smaller than its predecessor, a $4.5 billion fund raised in 2022. The company has shifted to a shorter fundraising cycle to remain flexible and capitalize on fast-changing trends within the crypto space. This move comes as the broader crypto market has seen more than $2 trillion wiped from its total market capitalization since its peak of around $4.4 trillion in early October.
The fundraising effort arrives amid what Bloomberg described in February as an "identity crisis" for crypto-focused venture capital funds. Many funds are shifting focus toward higher-performing sectors like stablecoin infrastructure, real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, and on-chain prediction markets, while some are branching into adjacent industries like artificial intelligence (AI) and fintech.
Other major firms are also active. Dragonfly Capital closed a $650 million fund last month, and Paradigm is reportedly seeking to raise $1.5 billion for a fund that expands into AI and robotics. Meanwhile, Multicoin Capital co-founder Kyle Samani stepped down in February to explore new technology areas.
a16z Crypto, the blockchain arm of Andreessen Horowitz, has been an active investor. Data from CryptoRank shows it backed Kalshi and invested $50 million in the Solana staking protocol Jito in Q4 2025. This year, it has invested in Babylon, Kairos, and Talos. The firm holds 187 investments, averaging $10-20 million per round.
In a broader context, a16z raised over $15 billion in January for a fund to invest in technologies deemed critical to America's future, mentioning both AI and crypto. The firm recently highlighted crypto and AI as major themes for 2026, expecting AI to automate cybersecurity, prediction markets to grow, and stablecoins to become more intertwined with traditional finance.
The crypto venture funding environment remains challenging. According to DeFiLlama, crypto startups raised $895 million in February 2026, down almost 40% from the $1.47 billion raised the previous month and representing a 77% decline since October.
