Venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz today announced it raised a colossal $4.5 billion for its largest-ever venture fund to invest in crypto and Web3 startups.

The fund, the firm’s fourth, will bring a16z’s total raised to date for crypto investments to $7.6 billion. In the new fund, $1.5 billion will go to seed investments and the rest will be used for venture investments. This fund represents more than double the amount it raised in its third fund in June of last year.

Chris Dixon, managing partner and founder of a16z’s crypto arm, said that he believed the industry was now entering a “golden era of Web3.”

Web3 is otherwise known as the decentralized web, built on programmable blockchain technology and programmable decentralized applications that use cryptocurrencies to support token economies for decentralized finance, social media, gaming, self-sovereign identity and nonfungible tokens.

“Programmable blockchains are sufficiently advanced, and a diverse range of apps have reached tens of millions of users,” Dixon said. “More importantly, a massive wave of world-class talent has entered Web3 over the last year. They are brilliant and passionate and want to build a better internet.”

Dixon said that a16z would use the fund to invest in Web3 startups at every stage across the entire industry as well as broaden its own operating functions in order to assist its portfolio companies to solve challenges. Such as expanding research and engineering for cryptography, mechanism design, protocol design and tokenomics; security functions for key management and smart contracts; recruiting talent and people; and assisting with navigating legal and regulatory hurdles.

The firm’s current crypto portfolio includes Dapper Labs, the developer of NBA Top Shot; OpenSea, the biggest NFT marketplace; Uniswap, a fully decentralized cryptocurrency exchange; Solana, a high-performance blockchain; and Phantom, a user-friendly crypto wallet for Solana.

This newest fund comes after one of the biggest downturns in the crypto market and the recent crash of the cryptocurrency Luna alongside its sister currency, the TerraUSD stablecoin. In spite of this, venture capital investments in the crypto industry have continued to roll in.

For example, crypto infrastructure has become a major source of investment such as the today’s $100 million raised by StarkWare, a company that builds blockchain scaling infrastructure. The Series D round, led by Greenoaks Capital and Coatue, quadrupled the company’s valuation to $8 billion from $2 billion since its last funding round in November. This continuing interest in venture funding shows an ongoing trend across the entire crypto industry that a16z intends to ride.

Speaking about the fund, Dixon said that “golden eras” occur when the right factors come together, such as infrastructure, talent and community that permit the formation of “legendary teams.” He added that he believes Web3 talent is building “the next generation of the internet.”

“Our frequent conversations with builders have given us the confidence to go big, and we’re grateful to be your partner,” Dixon said.

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