Sequoia Capital and a16z invested heavily in Fintech in 2022

Major venture capital firms are doubling down on fintech, with the industry dominating the portfolios of firms such as Sequoia Capital and a16z. Both firms invested significant amounts in the space in 2022.

According to a report by CB Insights, the major investment firms Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) invested a significant sum in the fintech space last year. The former’s investment budget was used for approximately 25% of the 100 deals. A similar trend was seen for a16z.

The numbers are all the more surprising given the tough year that was 2022. While fintech is limited to crypto investments, the global economy saw the start of a tough update that could continue or worsen in 2023.

Sequoia dedicated 8% of its fintech budget to crypto investments, with CB Insights showing funding for EDXM and Multis. Most of the funding focused on capital markets, payments, wages and benefits. Each of these three represented 16% of fintech funding.

A16z was more prolific when it came to crypto investments, with the firm backing 49 companies. It has long shown interest in blockchain technology, and the desire is only increasing. In A16z’s case, the bulk of the fintech portfolio focused on payments, at 28%.

However, investments in blockchain companies were not far behind, making up 22% of the portfolio. Funded companies included Aztec, Goldfinch, Lido, Near and Phantom.

A16z continues its funding spree

A16z has long been focused on investing in crypto and blockchain technology and has often made headlines for its targeted interest. Back in 2021, the firm announced a $1 billion crypto investment fund. Countries like India are also a prime target, with startups in the country receiving $500 million in investments from a16z.

2023 looks set to be another year of major investments in the space from the company. Last week, a16z led a $25.5 million investment round in Web3 social media startup Town. A few days earlier, it led a $6 million investment round in Stelo Labs, a Web3 security startup.

Marc Andreessen is more bullish on ETH than BTC

Marc Andreessen is very bullish about cryptocurrencies, especially ether. In an interview with ReasonTV, the entrepreneur stated that he was more optimistic about the prospects of Ethereum over Bitcoin. The gist of his statements was that he believed web3 was the future, something the firm has reiterated in the past.

A16z, a major holder of the UNI token, also recently voted against a proposal to deploy Uniswap v3 on the BNB chain using the Wormhole bridge. It spent 15 million UNI for the vote, and this made up the bulk of the votes.