Original author: Ben Weiss

Original translation: Deep Tide TechFlow

Introduction: Fortune reporters obtained a batch of undisclosed financial disclosure documents from the SEC regarding cryptocurrency VC, which show that the assets under management (AUM) of top institutions such as Paradigm, Pantera, a16z crypto, and Multicoin will shrink across the board by 2025. However, shrinking is not entirely a bad thing— a16z crypto returned money to LPs at the market peak, achieving a DPI of 5.4 times for the initial fund. The only one with countercyclical growth is Haun Ventures, which hit the stablecoin track with the acquisition of BVNK by Mastercard.

The leading players in crypto VC did not escape the market crash of 2025.

Fortune reporter Ben Weiss obtained a batch of previously undisclosed financial disclosure documents from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The data is straightforward: the AUM of top institutions like Paradigm and Pantera Capital collectively shrank in 2025.

Caption: Change in the AUM of top crypto VCs from 2021 to 2025

Chart by: Ben Weiss / Fortune

But before diving into the numbers, there is a premise that needs to be clarified: AUM is not a good indicator of the success or failure of a VC. It does not reflect new rounds of financing, LP exit distributions, nor does it reflect capital calls. The prices of crypto assets are themselves highly volatile—one tweet from an emotionally unstable person can cause prices to go on a roller coaster (choose any between Musk, Trump, or Zhao Changpeng). Established crypto VCs have experienced asset surges during the NFT craze in 2021 and have also witnessed portfolio crashes in the subsequent "crypto winter."

Original author Ben Weiss also emphasizes: the real top investors ultimately have to return money to LPs. AUM fluctuations in the short term do not equal performance quality.

With this premise in mind, let's look at the specific data.

a16z crypto: AUM shrinks by nearly 40%, but money returned to LP

The AUM of the four crypto funds under a16z crypto plummeted by nearly 40% from 2024, dropping to $9.5 billion. During the same period, the parent company Andreessen Horowitz's asset management scale expanded to over $100 billion.

The reason for the shrinkage is partly because this institution has started distributing the returns of the first three funds back to LPs. According to insiders, a16z crypto intends to make distributions at the high point of the crypto market in 2025.

How effective is this? According to data from Newcomer, the net DPI of a16z's first crypto fund (distribution to paid-in capital ratio) reached 5.4 times. Compared to other VC funds raised during the same period on the Carta platform in 2018, this return rate is quite impressive.

In other words, the shrinkage of AUM at a16z crypto is more a result of "making money and returning to LPs" rather than "portfolio crashes."

Multicoin: AUM halved to $2.7 billion

The fate of Multicoin Capital is deeply tied to the crypto market. During the crypto boom in 2021, its AUM nearly tripled in a year, approaching $9 billion. After the FTX collapse, it fell sharply, and then rebounded gradually over the next two years.

However, this latest round of decline in 2025 has brought it back down. From 2024 to 2025, Multicoin's AUM shrank by more than half, dropping to around $2.7 billion. Since BTC began to plummet in October 2025, crypto assets have retreated across the board, and Multicoin, which operates both hedge funds and VC funds, is particularly affected.

To add some context: Multicoin co-founder Kyle Samani left the company in February this year to pursue investments in other areas of technology.

Pantera: Five portfolio companies IPO; capital flowing back to LP

Pantera Capital's AUM has also shrunk, but similar to a16z, part of the reason is the proactive distributions back to LPs.

According to insiders, Pantera had five portfolio companies go public in 2025, including Circle and BitGo. These exits brought significant cash inflows.

Haun Ventures: The only countercyclical growth, AUM up over 30%

In a sea of shrinkage, Haun Ventures is the only exception.

Founded by former a16z crypto partner Katie Haun, this institution saw its AUM grow by over 30% year-on-year, nearing $2.5 billion. One reason is the success in the sector—it invested in the stablecoin company BVNK, which was acquired by Mastercard for up to $1.8 billion. Additionally, Haun Ventures itself is raising a new $1 billion fund in 2025.

A new fundraising round has started

Although AUM has shrunk, top institutions have not slowed down:

Paradigm is raising a new fund of up to $1.5 billion. a16z crypto is raising a new fund of up to $2 billion. Dragonfly just closed a fourth fund of $650 million. After the article's publication, Fortune added corrections: a Dragonfly spokesperson actually responded, confirming that the data is "accurate," and stated, "We are actively deploying capital."

Spokespersons for Paradigm, Pantera, a16z crypto, Multicoin, and Haun Ventures all declined to comment.

The cyclical fate of crypto VC

The original text ends here, but there are several background points worth adding.

Crypto VCs and traditional tech VCs are fundamentally different. Traditional VCs invest in equity, exiting through IPOs or mergers and acquisitions. Many crypto startups have their own tokens, and VCs’ holdings are directly exposed to the price fluctuations of these tokens.

Multicoin is the most extreme case: According to previous reports by Fortune, from 2017 to 2021, its assets increased by 20,287%, only to retract by 90% in 2022. Such magnitude is unimaginable in the traditional VC sector.

According to Pantera Capital's outlook report at the beginning of this year, the total crypto market cap excluding BTC (excluding ETH and stablecoins) has dropped by about 44% from the peak at the end of 2024. However, according to historical trends, bear markets are also windows for bottom-fishing. Several leading institutions are currently intensively raising funds, banking on the next cycle.

According to previous exclusive reports by Fortune, a16z crypto's fifth fund is planned to complete fundraising in the first half of 2026, led by Chris Dixon, and will continue to fully invest in the blockchain direction. Paradigm's new fund is reportedly expanding into AI and robotics. The two strategies are clearly differentiated: a16z continues to go all-in on crypto, while Paradigm chooses to hedge across sectors.

免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。