News: Former House Financial Services Chair Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) is joining the legendary Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz as a senior adviser.
Andreessen Horowitz, known as a16z, is one of the most active venture capital firms in Silicon Valley with $45 billion under management. It was an early investor in Twitter, Airbnb and Facebook.
A16z’s two founders, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, are both politically active. Andreessen has been outspoken about his support for President Donald Trump. The pair fund Fairshake, a super PAC that has spent on behalf of both Republicans and Democrats.
McHenry, who was in Congress for 20 years and served a notable stint as speaker pro tempore of the House, will help a16z with its politics and assist its portfolio companies with navigating the regulatory landscape in D.C.
Big day for crypto: The Senate’s first subcommittee on digital asset policy convenes today. We got a sneak peek at the opening remarks from the panel’s top Democrat Sen. Ruben Gallego (Ariz.).
The Arizona Democrat, whose election bid was backed by the crypto super PAC network Fairshake, will say crypto “presents both extraordinary opportunities and significant challenges.” Gallego will also stress the need for “robust oversight,” including a call to make sure crypto is “not used to circumvent existing laws on money laundering, tax evasion, or illicit financing.”
Gallego also wants to focus on “encouraging innovation that is productive and useful to everyday Americans. The growth of things like ‘meme coins’ on everything from Trump to DOGE to Peanut the Squirrel are about flashy headlines and trending on social media, not about helping traditionally un- and under-banked communities gain access to the financial system.”
