Crypto Investors Are Departing Sequoia Capital

Recent reports reveal that some crypto investors have left Sequoia Capital’s team. The venture capital firm recently underwent a reshuffle that resulted in the departure of five partners, including long-term partner Michael Moritz, Mike Vernal, and Kais Khimji.

It was also noted that Daniel Chen, a self-proclaimed “crypto maxi,” and junior partner Michelle Fradin, who was an FTX investor at Sequoia, have left the firm.

This information was shared with investors in a note yesterday, according to Bloomberg.

Fradin and Chen played a significant role in the crypto investments of the company.

This decision was made due to the damage to Sequoia’s reputation after FTX’s collapse in 2022, causing a loss of $213.5 million as the investment became worthless, mainly affecting the global growth fund.

However, the company clarified that the investment’s cost basis accounted for less than 3% of the committed capital of the fund at the time.

Michael Moritz, a partner with the firm for nearly four decades, has also left to concentrate on Sequoia Heritage, a wealth management business he helped establish.

The company manages over $15 billion in funds, and a significant portion belongs to Moritz’s family foundation, Crankstart.

Sequoia Capital has seen the departure of partners Kais Khimji and Mike Vernal. Khimji’s specialty was later-stage companies, while Vernal plans on taking a sabbatical.

In March, Sequoia joined Variant and Coinbase in raising $7.5 million in seed funding for Turnkey, a startup focused on crypto security and custody. Based on an SEC filing, Sequoia Capital now has more than $50 billion in venture assets.

It has been reported that the Financial Stability Board (FSB) of the G20 has issued a new set of guidelines for regulating crypto and stablecoins.

These guidelines were created to address regulatory gaps in the industry on a global level, and to establish a standard framework for regulation.

This comes in light of recent incidents involving Terra (LUNA) and FTX, which have shaken the digital asset industry. In order to learn more details about this, check out our previous article.