Billions and billions. That’s what venture capitalists spend to get ahead of the cryptocurrency curve. His latest fixation is Ethereum’s layer 2 scaling solutions and Web3, an umbrella term that describes the next stage of the Internet’s evolution. So while the cryptocurrency market is in a state of extreme fear, smart money investors — the folks at TradFi investing with expert knowledge — continue to pour countless sums into the space.
This week’s Crypto Biz newsletter brings you the latest funding stories from the blockchain world and explores exciting developments around Google and Sam Bankman-Fried.
Andreessen Horowitz Closes $4.5B Cryptocurrency Fund Amid Market Turmoil
The 2022 crypto market sell-off has not deterred Andreessen Horowitz from pledging more billions to crypto companies. This week, the venture capital giant, which is also known as a16z, announced the closure of its fourth cryptocurrency investment fund. Valued at $4.5 billion, a16z’s new fund is heavily focused on Web3 startups. Clearly, Andreessen is getting the money from stakeholders who believe that blockchain technology will transform the Internet. So you can keep reading catastrophic headlines about the end of cryptocurrencies as we know them. Or you can just follow what the smart money is doing.
Announcing our fourth crypto fund, totaling $4.5B, to invest in promising web3 startups at every stage. This brings our total crypto/web3 funds raised to over $7.6B.
General Partner @cdixon shares more on https://t.co/xIezLlyDiC. https://t.co/Xc696Fu8UT
— a16z (@a16z) May 25, 2022
We announce our fourth crypto fund, totaling $4.5 billion, to invest in promising web3 startups at every stage. This brings our total crypto/web3 funds raised to over $7.6 billion.
StarkWare lands $100M as investors bet on Layer 2 success
Speaking of smart money, venture capitalists have given $100 million to Ethereum layer 2 developer StarkWare. Many cryptocurrency watchers are excited about Ethereum’s chronically delayed merger, but investors seem to think the network won’t be able to scale without heavy support from layer 2 solutions. StarkWare is pushing a layer-2 technology that could significantly increase Ethereum’s transaction capabilities, greatly improving the functionality of the network. Interest in Layer 2 solutions is increasing and investors will try to support as many candidates as possible.
Google seeks new talent to lead the global Web3 team
Bear markets are tough, but don’t let them deter you from considering a career in the crypto space. Even Google, the Internet’s data lords, is recruiting talent for its Web3 ambitions. Basically, the company is building a Web3 team within its Google Cloud division and believes now is the time to increase support for “cryptocurrency-related technologies.” Those were the exact words – presumably, of course – of the vice president of Google Cloud, Amit Zavery. Web3 is no longer just about cryptocurrencies, but its connection to the industry seems to be getting stronger.
new: Google Cloud is forming a Web3 product and engineering organization that will build services for developers. new job postings have appeared on Google’s internal Grow tool, Amit Zavery is telling employees in an email today https://t.co/sLC8VlqgBf
— Jordan Novet (@jordannovet) May 6, 2022
News: Google Cloud is forming a Web3 engineering and products organization that will create services for developers. New job openings have appeared on Google’s internal Grow tool, Amit Zavery tells employees in an email today
Sam Bankman-Fried could spend up to $1 billion in 2024 to thwart Trump’s comeback
Just because Bitcoin is trading sideways doesn’t mean the cryptocurrency market is boring. Far from it, actually. How about this story: FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, aka SBF, is willing to spend up to $1 billion of his own money to thwart a Donald Trump comeback. I assume this means that SBF will donate up to $1 billion to the Democratic Party during the 2024 election cycle. Although Trump has not confirmed whether he will run again in the 2024 election, there is every chance that he will kick the can again. If he does show up, I don’t think anyone in the GOP can compete with him. SBF is taking this very seriously.
I would love to tell you that Bitcoin is a first-class inflation hedge that has completely decoupled from stocks and other so-called risky assets. Nevertheless, Unfortunately, since the Covid crisis of March 2020, Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have been highly correlated with stocks. If you want to gauge the likelihood of a crypto rally in the near term, you have to look at what stocks are doing. In the latest edition of The Market Report, I sat down with fellow analysts Benton Yuan, Jordan Finneseth, and Marcel Pechman to discuss the likelihood of a stock market rally and what it means for Bitcoin. You can watch the full replay below.
Crypto Biz is your weekly roundup of the business behind blockchain and cryptocurrencies, delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday.
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