# Chris Dixon

> Chris Dixon is the founder and managing partner of a16z crypto, the largest dedicated crypto venture fund in the world with over $7 billion in committed capital. A Columbia philosophy graduate turned software engineer turned serial entrepreneur (SiteAdvisor, Hunch), he joined Andreessen Horowitz in 2012 and has since become Silicon Valley's most prominent crypto bull, leading investments in Coinbase, Uniswap, and dozens of foundational web3 companies. His 2018 essay 'Why Decentralization Matters' became a manifesto for the open internet movement, and his 2024 book 'Read Write Own' extended that thesis into a New York Times-listed blueprint for the next era of the internet.

- **Role:** Founder and Managing Partner at a16z crypto (Andreessen Horowitz)
- **Organizations:** a16z crypto, Andreessen Horowitz, Founder Collective
- **From:** Ohio, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA and MA in Philosophy, Columbia University, MBA, Harvard Business School
- **Known for:** #1 on Forbes Midas List in 2022 - top-ranked venture investor globally, Named 'World's Top Crypto Investor' by Fortune magazine (2022), Founded a16z crypto - managing $7+ billion across four funds

## Career timeline

- **Early 1990s** — Studied philosophy at Columbia University, earning BA and MA
- **Late 1990s - Early 2000s** — Worked as a software engineer at Arbitrade, a high-speed options trading firm
- **Early 2000s** — Earned MBA from Harvard Business School
- **2005** — Co-founded SiteAdvisor, a web safety startup that rated sites for malware and phishing risks
- **2006** — SiteAdvisor acquired by McAfee
- **2007-2008** — Active angel investor; early bets on Kickstarter, Pinterest, Stripe, Stack Overflow, Foursquare
- **2009** — Co-founded Hunch with Caterina Fake (Flickr co-founder) and Tom Pinckney - a machine-learning recommendation engine
- **2009** — Co-founded Founder Collective, a seed-stage venture fund
- **2011** — Hunch acquired by eBay for approximately $80 million
- **2012** — Joined Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) as General Partner
- **2013-2014** — Published influential early Bitcoin blog posts helping legitimize crypto in Silicon Valley; a16z invested ~$50M in Bitcoin ventures
- **2018** — Published 'Why Decentralization Matters' - became a web3 manifesto; launched a16z crypto Fund I ($300M)
- **2019** — Published 'Strong and Weak Technologies'; a16z crypto Fund II planning
- **2020** — a16z crypto Fund II: $515 million
- **2021** — a16z crypto Fund III: $2.2 billion - largest dedicated crypto fund at the time; Coinbase IPO at ~$86B valuation
- **2022** — a16z crypto Fund IV: $4.5 billion; Forbes Midas List #1; Fortune named him 'world's top crypto investor'
- **2024** — Published 'Read Write Own: Building the Next Era of the Internet' (Random House); briefly hit NYT Best Sellers List
- **2025-2026** — Continued advocacy for crypto policy clarity; published 'The Long Game for Crypto' on Substack

## Achievements

- #1 on Forbes Midas List in 2022 - top-ranked venture investor globally
- Named 'World's Top Crypto Investor' by Fortune magazine (2022)
- Founded a16z crypto - managing $7+ billion across four funds
- Led a16z's investment in Coinbase (IPO at ~$86B valuation in 2021)
- Co-founded and sold SiteAdvisor to McAfee (2006)
- Co-founded Hunch and sold to eBay for ~$80 million (2011)
- Angel invested in Coinbase, Stripe, Pinterest, Kickstarter before they became multi-billion-dollar companies
- Published 'Read Write Own' (Random House, 2024) - NYT Best Sellers List
- 'Why Decentralization Matters' became one of the most-read essays in crypto history (68K+ Medium claps)
- Co-founded Founder Collective, a prominent seed-stage venture fund

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — Published 'The Long Game for Crypto' on Substack, arguing GENIUS stablecoin act and CLARITY Act are policy inflection points for crypto legitimacy
- **2024-01** — Published 'Read Write Own: Building the Next Era of the Internet' (Random House) - endorsed by Bob Iger, Sam Altman, Kevin Kelly
- **2024-02** — Book briefly reached #9 on NYT Best Sellers List before controversy over bulk purchases by a16z portfolio companies
- **2024-ongoing** — Active on Farcaster at cdixon.eth; continues publishing on Substack and appearing on web3 with a16z podcast
- **2022-03** — Ranked #1 on Forbes Midas List; a16z crypto Fund IV closed at $4.5 billion

## Links

- Website: https://cdixon.org
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cdixon
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/cdixon

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/chris-dixon
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-04