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a16z crypto partner Guy Wuollet says crypto is entering its \u201ccollared shirt\u201d era, as the firm doubles down on a 10\u2011year infrastructure bet even while high\u2011profile partners exit amid a new $2b fundraise.<\/p>\n
\n Summary<\/span>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Guy Wuollet, a16z crypto partner has published a new essay arguing<\/a> that \u201cfinance is not separate from a larger vision; it is part of it,\u201d describing blockchains as foundational infrastructure rather than a speculative sideshow. \u201cAt a16z and a16z crypto, we are looking long\u2011term: our fund structure is designed for a cycle of over 10 years because building new industries takes time,\u201d the partner wrote, likening the current phase to laying railways before new categories of applications can run. The piece stressed that many breakthrough apps will only emerge once wallets, identities, liquidity, and trust mechanisms are mature, echoing a16z research that compares crypto\u2019s timeline to the decades of work behind modern AI.<\/p>\n That message is consistent with comments from a16z<\/a> crypto general partner Chris Dixon, who recently said blockchain is \u201cthe next foundational infrastructure of the internet,\u201d and that the industry is in a long \u201cfoundation\u2011building phase\u201d similar to the 1943 neural\u2011net paper for today\u2019s AI boom. Dixon has also noted that the firm has held onto about 95% of its historically invested assets because, in his words, \u201cselling high\u2011quality assets too early is the worst decision in venture capital.\u201d The stance underpins a16z crypto\u2019s push into themes like stablecoins, tokenization, privacy, and prediction markets, laid out in a \u201cBig Ideas 2026\u201d roadmap that frames crypto as the plumbing for an internet where value moves as quickly as data.<\/p>\n The long\u2011term rhetoric comes as some a16z\u2011linked partners adjust their own career paths. Foresight News reported that Arianna Simpson, a general partner at a16z crypto, has \u201cannounced her resignation,\u201d while fellow partner Kofi Ampadu is also leaving after the firm paused its Talent x Opportunity (TxO) program; a memo obtained by TechCrunch shows Ampadu telling staff that \u201cclosing my a16z chapter\u201d followed four years of backing out\u2011of\u2011network founders. Those moves reflect a broader reshuffling inside top crypto VCs, as funds rebalance between seed bets, growth\u2011stage deals, and new AI\u2011crypto hybrids.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n\n
a16z crypto doubles down on long\u2011term thesis<\/h2>\n