a16z Doesn’t Sell its Crypto Tokens, Exec Says; Portfolio Disagrees

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley, California, does not allow the firms it invests in to sell crypto tokens, claimed Chris Dixon, a general partner at the firm. However, the claims come out to be false if we take a look at the VC firm’s portfolio. 

In an interview with the New York Times podcast Hard Fork, Dixon defended the investments that his venture capital firm has made while talking about his investment thesis. 

Firms Involved with a16z do Not Sell Tokens

During the interview, Dixon defended his VC firm’s investment in Helium (HNT), a decentralized blockchain-powered network for Internet of Things (IoT) devices, while adding:

“No company we’re involved with—nor would we allow them to do this—sells tokens to the public.”

However, Portos reviewed the venture capital firm’s portfolio, finding serious flaws in the general partner’s claims. 

Review of Portfolio

One of the most notable investment decisions made by a16z is putting their money in DFINITY, the firm behind the Internet Protocol (ICP) token, which has tanked almost 99% since the initial coin offering (ICO). ICP tokens were distributed to those who ‘donated’ to the DFINITY foundation, as the report pointed out. 

Andreessen Horowitz has also invested in Fei, an algorithmic stablecoin protocol that failed on its launch day. It is important to note that the protocol sold both the FEI token and the TRIBE governance in its Genesis Event. 

Further, a16z also invested in Sky Mavis, the developer behind Axie Infinity, which sold the AXS tokens via the Binance launchpad to retailers. 

Sale of NFTs

Some of the firms that have received funds from a16z also sold non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to retailers, and it seems that Dixon doesn’t consider NFTs as tokens. One of these is VeeFriends, the firm Gary Vee, an American businessman, author, speaker, and internet personality, uses to sell his NFTs. 

a16z also put their money on PROOF, behind the PROOF Collective, and it auctioned those NFTs. Notably, Yuga Labs, the firm behind popular NFT collections like the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), also sells NFTs. 

a16z has Billions to Invest in Crypto

As reported earlier by TheCoinRise, after facing a 40% loss in the crypto winter, which started in early 2022, a16z announced that it still has billions to invest in cryptocurrency and Web 3.0. 

Additionally, the firm also opened the company’s first international office outside the United States in London. Dixon highlighted a “predictable business environment” as one of the main reasons behind the company’s decision to expand its scope.