Katherine Wu, a Coinbase Ventures investor, is departing for Archetype, an early-stage crypto venture capital firm, less than a year after joining Coinbase as a senior deal lead in September. Bloomberg was the first to report on the relocation. “Today is my final day at Coinbase, and sometimes you take a leap of faith and it simply doesn’t work out that’s fine!” Wu announced her resignation in a tweet on Friday.
According to the firm’s website, Wu will serve as a venture partner at Archetype, an early-stage VC formed by Ash Egan, who is an investor in a number of notable crypto firms, including Chainalysis, BlockFi, and FalconX. Through Archetype, Egan, who previously co-founded ConsenSys Ventures, has invested in US BTC Corp., a renewable bitcoin miner, and POAP, a proof-of-attendance firm.
In a written response to TechCrunch, Wu said she was “very pleased to be back doing what [I] do best – lead investment in crypto companies trying to raise their first round.” She stated that she aims to continue to develop methods to make crypto more accessible, noting the “Around the Block” podcast on industry trends that she co-hosted for Coinbase as an example.
In 2021, Coinbase Ventures had its busiest year ever, investing in roughly 150 deals. Last summer, Archetype, previously Acrylic, secured $55 million from a group of limited partners that included Cendana Capital, Accolade Partners, Accomplice, and Digital Currency Group. The Wall Street Journal reported in July that the Brooklyn, New York-based fund’s objective is to invest between $500,000 and $1.5 million in early-stage crypto companies. Wu will join Egan and Danny Sursock, the only two Archetype workers presently mentioned on the company’s website, in investing. No one from Archetype or Coinbase could be reached for comment.
Both the crypto markets and venture capital investment had a historic year in 2021. Bitcoin rocketed to new highs to start the year, fueled in part by institutional inflows, and the whole market followed suit, approaching a record $3 trillion market size in November. Meanwhile, venture capitalists put $30 billion into the field, outnumbering all previous years in crypto’s history combined.
Coinbase Ventures had a record year in 2021, with just under 150 deals, or once every 2.5 days. More than 90% of the cash that Coinbase Ventures has deployed since its start was deployed in 2021, indicating an increased pace of activity in our fourth year of existence. Wu previously worked for Notation, a pre-seed venture funding firm, and Messari, a crypto data supplier.
Coinbase Ventures is one of the most active corporate venture funds in the world, with the mission of spreading economic freedom throughout the world by investing in the most promising entrepreneurs and ideas. Finally, we see crypto and Web3 as a rising tide that lifts all boats, including Coinbase’s, and Coinbase Ventures is committed to making critical investments in the field.
