Author: Ben Weiss

Translation: Shenchao TechFlow

Overview by Shenchao: Fortune reporters obtained a batch of undisclosed financial disclosure documents from the SEC regarding crypto VC, showing that the assets under management (AUM) of top firms like Paradigm, Pantera, a16z crypto, and Multicoin are set to shrink across the board by 2025. However, not all shrinkage is bad— a16z crypto returned money to LPs at the market peak, achieving a DPI of 5.4 times for its first fund. The only one experiencing growth amid adversity is Haun Ventures, which successfully bet on the stablecoin sector with BVNK acquired by Mastercard.

Top players in crypto VC couldn't avoid the market crash of 2025.

Fortune reporter Ben Weiss received a batch of previously undisclosed investment advisor financial disclosure documents from the SEC. The data is quite straightforward: AUM of top institutions like Paradigm and Pantera Capital collectively shrank in 2025.

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

Graphic: Ben Weiss / Fortune

However, before listing the numbers, one prerequisite needs to be clarified: AUM is not a good measure of VC success or failure. It does not reflect new rounds of financing, LP exit distributions, nor capital calls. The price of crypto assets themselves is notoriously volatile—one unstable man's tweet can send prices on a roller coaster (Elon Musk, Trump, or Changpeng Zhao, just pick one). Traditional crypto VCs have experienced asset surges during the 2021 NFT craze and seen their portfolios plummet during the subsequent "crypto winter."

The original author Ben Weiss also emphasized: True top investors must eventually return money to LPs. Short-term fluctuations in AUM do not equate to performance quality.

With that prerequisite clear, let’s look at the specific data.

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

The combined AUM of four crypto funds under a16z crypto plummeted nearly 40% from 2024, down to $9.5 billion. During the same period, its parent company Andreessen Horowitz's assets under management swelled to over $100 billion.

The reason for the shrinkage is partly because the firm began distributing returns from its first three funds back to LPs. According to insiders, a16z crypto intended to choose the market peak in 2025 for these distributions.

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

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

Multicoin: AUM halved to $2.7 billion

Multicoin Capital's fate is closely tied to the crypto market. During the crypto boom in 2021, its AUM tripled in one year, nearing $9 billion. After the FTX collapse, it dropped immediately, then slowly rebounded over the next two years.

But the downturn in 2025 has sent it back down. From 2024 to 2025, Multicoin's AUM shrank by more than half, down to about $2.7 billion. Since BTC began to plummet in October 2025, crypto assets have retraced all around, and Multicoin, which operates both hedge funds and VC funds, has been hit hard.

As a background note: Multicoin co-founder Kyle Samani left the company in February this year to invest in other areas of technology.

Pantera: Five portfolio companies IPO, capital returns to LP

Pantera Capital's AUM also shrank, but similar to a16z, part of the reason is actively distributing to LPs.

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

Haun Ventures: The only one growing against the trend, AUM up over 30%

Amidst widespread shrinkage, Haun Ventures is the only exception.

This firm, founded by former a16z crypto partner Katie Haun, saw its AUM grow by over 30% year-on-year, approaching $2.5 billion. On one hand, this is due to hitting the right sector—its invested stablecoin company BVNK was acquired by Mastercard for up to $1.8 billion. On the other hand, Haun Ventures is also in the process of raising a new $1 billion fund in 2025.

A new round of fundraising has begun

Although AUM is shrinking, the leading firms have not slowed down:

Paradigm is raising a new fund of up to $1.5 billion. a16z crypto is raising up to $2 billion. Dragonfly just closed its fourth fund at $650 million. After the article was published, Fortune added a correction: A Dragonfly spokesperson actually responded, confirming that the data was "accurate" and stating, "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 article ends here, but there are a few background points worth supplementing.

Crypto VC and traditional tech VC fundamentally differ. Traditional VCs invest in equity, exiting through IPOs or acquisitions. Many crypto startups have their own tokens, with VCs' holdings directly exposed to token price fluctuations.

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

According to Pantera Capital's outlook report earlier this year, the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies excluding BTC (excluding ETH and stablecoins) has dropped by about 44% since its peak at the end of 2024. However, based on historical trends, bear markets also serve as window periods for bottom-fishing. Several leading firms are currently intensively raising funds, betting on the next cycle.

According to previous exclusive reports from 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 bet on the blockchain direction. Paradigm's new fund, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, will expand into AI and robotics. The strategic divisions are quite clear: a16z continues to go all-in on crypto, while Paradigm chooses to hedge across sectors.