Andreessen Horowitz Hires Former Prosecutor for Crypto Role
Andreessen Horowitz Hires Former Prosecutor for Crypto Role
(Bloomberg) --
Andreessen Horowitz, the venture capital firm also known as a16z, hired former federal prosecutor Michele Korver to oversee regulatory affairs for its crypto team.
Korver has more than 25 years of experience in government and law enforcement, the firm said in a blog post on Tuesday. She last year became the first chief digital currency adviser for the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Before that, she worked as the digital currency counsel for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
Korver will be responsible for handling relations between a16z’s crypto portfolio companies and regulators, as well as working to ensure future regulation strikes the right balance between weeding out bad actors and allowing innovation to flourish, Anthony Albanese, a managing partner and the chief operating officer of a16z’s crypto effort, said in the blog post.
The announcement comes after President Joe Biden last week signed an executive order directing federal agencies to produce studies on a range of issues that could impact future regulation of digital assets. Andreessen Horowitz in June announced its latest crypto fund, totaling $2.2 billion.
“I’ve devoted much of my career to helping policymakers understand the power and potential of this technology,” Korver said in statement to Bloomberg News. “I’m now excited to join a16z crypto and work directly with web3 projects to help them thrive in a rapidly developing regulatory environment.”
Korver’s addition to the a16z crypto team comes after the departure of Katie Haun, the former general partner and crypto investing leader who in December announced she was starting her own fund. Like Korver, Haun is a former prosecutor who worked for the Justice Department for more than a decade, including as its first digital currency coordinator.
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