Yesterday, media reports stated that a16z planned to remove “Crypto” from the name of its cryptocurrency fund; Today, Chris Dixon, the founder of a16z’s crypto business and the institution’s most prominent public face in Web3 over the past several years, formally responded to this change with a detailed post. He argued that this adjustment represents an expansion, not an exit from Crypto. a16z’s fund will now cover a broader range of “frontier startups”—companies developing new technologies and opening new markets, which may take years to mature—hence the name change from a16z Crypto to a16z Frontier. Dixon further explained that early-stage crypto was once a relatively isolated world, but as blockchain adoption has grown more widespread, infrastructure is receding into the background. Wall Street and fintech companies now frequently build products on blockchain, making the distinction of “whether a company is crypto” increasingly irrelevant. Crypto will still play a key role in areas such as stablecoins, programmable finance, and machine-to-machine transactions, but it is no longer a standalone, heavily promoted vertical. He also framed this shift within his consistent investment philosophy: Since joining a16z in 2013, he has worked simultaneously on new computing devices and crypto; now, with the rise of AI, the most valuable opportunities may lie at the intersection of crypto and broader technological waves—not in continuing to tell a standalone “Crypto” story.