Andreessen Horowitz Raises $2.2 Billion Cryptocurrency Fund Targeting Stablecoins and DeFi

Andreessen Horowitz raised $2.2 billion for its fifth dedicated cryptocurrency fund on May 5, according to a CoinDesk report, with the firm saying cryptocurrency fundamentals are at an all-time high. The fund will focus on stablecoins, decentralized finance protocols, and early-stage builders the firm describes as flying under the radar of larger competitors.

The raise positions a16z as the largest active cryptocurrency-focused venture fund in the current cycle.

What the Fund Targets

The firm said the new capital will back projects across stablecoin infrastructure, decentralized finance applications, and developer tooling. A16z partners said the fund arrives as an AI-driven shift in capital allocation is reshaping which crypto categories attract institutional money.

Stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a fixed value against a reference asset such as the U.S. dollar, have seen accelerating adoption in cross-border payments and on-chain settlement. Decentralized finance, or DeFi, refers to financial services built on public blockchains without centralized intermediaries.

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Background

Andreessen Horowitz launched its first dedicated cryptocurrency fund in 2018 with $300 million.

Fund 4, raised in 2022, totaled $4.5 billion and was the largest cryptocurrency venture fund at that time. The new $2.2 billion raise is smaller than Fund 4, which the firm said reflects a deliberate focus on early-stage conviction bets rather than late-stage growth capital.

The firm competes with Haun Ventures, which raised $1 billion in a recent close, and with Paradigm, which has deployed significant capital across DeFi and layer-1 protocols since 2021. The broader VC landscape has grown more selective after several 2022-vintage funds faced write-downs tied to the FTX collapse and the broader bear market.

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What Comes Next

The fund’s stated interest in stablecoins is timed to coincide with pending U.S. stablecoin legislation, which would create a federal licensing framework for issuers.

Passage of that bill would significantly expand the addressable market for stablecoin infrastructure plays. Watch for a16z’s first announced investments from Fund 5 as a guide to which sub-sectors the firm views as most attractive entering the second half of 2026.

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