It's not just your cousin Todd… You know a downturn's serious when the VCs are hurting. Silicon Valley investing big shot Andreessen Horowitz (aka: a16z) reportedly lost billions in unrealized gains as the crypto market crashed. That's after it launched a $4.5B crypto fund in May, right as Terra's collapse kicked off crypto winter. This year alone the crypto-bullish firm took a $2.9B hit on its Coinbase investment, while its solana holdings lost 80% of their value. It's not just a16z:
- Messla: Last week Tesla reported a $170M impairment loss on bitcoin in the first nine months of the year.
- Rock: Jack Dorsey's Block said it had a second-quarter bitcoin-impairment loss of $36M (it reports Q3 earnings next week).
Down but not out… Crypto's institutional players may be bleeding cash, but they're still hoping for an infusion. On Tuesday, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried said he's looking for fresh investment dollars. The goal: use the $$ to draw more retail investors to his exchange (picture: lots of cousin Todds).
Being a true crypto believer isn’t cheap… While cousin Todd may not have the financial security to stick out crypto winter, institutional players like a16z insist they're here for the long haul — and have the billions-backed privilege to give it a shot. The firm announced nine crypto-startup deals last quarter, and its crypto king, Chris Dixon, talked up the company's "long-term horizon." But as the billions in losses show, faith in crypto's tomorrow can cost dearly today.