Andreessen Horowitz Invests $15 Million in Stablecoin Firm MakerDAO

Published at: Sept. 25, 2018

American venture capital fund Andreessen Horowitz has invested $15 million into blockchain startup MakerDAO (MKR), according to an announcement published September 24.

MakerDAO is the firm which stands behind Ethereum-based stablecoin Dai (DAI) and its accompanying decentralized credit system. DAI is pledged to U.S. dollars but collateralized by Ethereum (ETH). DAI users can generate the stable coin by locking up an excess amount of ETH in a smart contract, so if a user wants to access their collateral, they have to pay back the DAI debt.

Per the announcement, Andreessen Horowitz via its investment fund a16z acquired 6 percent of the total MKR token supply. The purchase will allow a16z to manage MKR and the Dai Credit System as it reportedly becomes “the first” decentralized autonomous stablecoin organization.

MKR will also receive operating capital through further financing stages, three years of support for the community, and operational support from more than eighty a16z team members. Rune Christensen, CEO and cofounder of MakerDAO, commented:

“With investment and operational support from a16z crypto, MakerDAO will be able to accelerate evolution, innovation, and adoption of the Dai Credit System.”

In August, Andreessen participated in a $100 million funding round of cloud computing startup DIFINITY. In February, Andreessen previously participated in the startup’s investment, contributing to a $61 million round. Having raised a total of just under $200 million since its foundation in 2015, DFINITY ultimately wants to create a platform which will “host the world’s next generation of software and services on a public network.”

In July, blockchain cloud computing platform Oasis Labs announced that it raised $45 million from major investors as part of its plan to help companies adopt blockchain. Oasis’ investors included a16z along with cryptocurrency exchange Binance, Pantera Capital and Accel.

At press time, total market capitalization of DAI is around $55 million, while the currency’s circulating supply is around 54.9 million, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

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Blockchain
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Stablecoin
Andreessen Horowitz
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