Crypto investor Katie Haun leaves Andreessen Horowitz to launch fund

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Katie Haun, Andreessen Horowitz General Partner

CNBC

One of the world’s leading crypto investors is leaving Andreessen Horowitz to start his own venture capital fund.

Katie Haun, who became Andreessen’s first female general partner in 2018, said her fund would launch next year with a focus on cryptocurrency and blockchain start-ups.

Haun, a former federal prosecutor, has helped raise several cryptocurrency-focused funds in Andreessen. The company has invested money in start-ups and projects this year, and has already fully deployed its latest $ 2.2 billion fund raised in June, according to Axios.

Haun co-launched Andreessen’s crypto funds with Chris Dixon, who will remain and lead the company’s blockchain investments, alongside three other partners.

“When Chris and I launched our first crypto fund in 2018, it was a moonlit experience,” Haun wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. “Thanks to the hard work of many, it exceeded our two wildest expectations. Today, it is more evident than ever that web3 will transform the Internet.”

Haun is on her own as investing in crypto goes beyond bitcoin and digital currencies and takes on greater prominence in what technicians are describing as the next wave of the internet, known as Web3 or Web 3.0. She said she would retain her seats on the boards of directors of Andreessen’s portfolio companies, including OpenSea and Coinbase.

Andreessen Horowitz will be a sponsor of the new Haun fund. Company founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, and Dixon will all make personal contributions to Haun’s new venture.

Known for his first bets on companies like Instagram, Lyft, Pinterest and Slack, Andreessen Horowitz made his first foray into digital assets through Coinbase in 2013. His first official crypto-focused fund was launched three years ago, during what is now known as “the crypto winter.” That year, the value of bitcoin rose by around 80% from its highs in 2017.

Bitcoin has been up around 700% since Andreessen announced its first crypto fund and was trading above $ 49,000 on Wednesday afternoon.

WATCH: Katie Haun on Andreessen’s latest crypto fund

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