Katie Haun is back on the fundraising circuit. The former federal prosecutor, who raked in $1.5 billion for her record-breaking debut venture funds in 2022, is targeting $1 billion across two new crypto-focused funds, according to people familiar with the fundraise. Her firm, Haun Ventures, is expected to close the raise in June.
A spokesperson for Haun Ventures declined to comment.
Haun launched her venture firm at the height of the last crypto bull market, raising $1.5 billion—the largest ever by a first-time female VC. At the time, it was the latest in a series of mega-raises by blockchain-focused firms, including Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto arm, Polychain, and Paradigm. Haun split the capital across two funds—$500 million for early-stage projects and $1 billion for late-stage. Its notable investments include the stablecoin startup Bridge and the NFT platform Zora.
The new funds will have the same structure, although with $500 million for early stage and $500 million for late stage, according to the people familiar.
Haun’s new funds are poised to be one of the largest hauls across the crypto venture space in the last two years and come after Paradigm announced an $850 million third fund in 2024. According to a source close with Haun Ventures, the firm targeted an overall raise that was smaller than its previous one based on market trends, but the two new funds are likely to be oversubscribed.
The crypto prosecutor
Haun took an unconventional path into the crypto industry, starting out as a prosecutor working on blockchain-related cases, including a high-profile takedown of rogue federal agents who stole crypto during the investigation of the dark web marketplace Silk Road. After her time at the Justice Department, she joined Coinbase as a board member and became a general partner at the venture behemoth a16z crypto before setting out on her own.
Haun’s first raise came at an inopportune moment. The crypto industry entered a prolonged bear market just as she closed her initial funds, sinking even further when the crypto exchange FTX collapsed in November 2022. Haun avoided investing in FTX, unlike other venture giants including Paradigm and Sequoia, though she still found herself managing a massive war chest of capital with diminished opportunities.
The firm initially planned a deployment schedule of around two years, though it deployed just 30% of its funds by June 2023—a more measured tactic that many of its limited partners, or investors, supported. Today, Haun Ventures is close to deploying the balance of its initial funds, according to the source close with the firm.
Haun will manage her two new funds at a time when the crypto industry is at a crucial crossroads. Though the sector is ascendant thanks to the support of President Trump, who has overseen a government overhaul that is bulldozing ahead with new legislation and more sympathetic federal agencies, prices of top cryptocurrencies have also tanked due to uncertain macro conditions, in part caused by Trump’s own economic policies.
Though Haun has mostly stayed away from public appearances at crypto conferences, she has made political proclamations on X, including celebrating the Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision to drop its lawsuit against Coinbase. She has also been active on the political fundraising circuit, including hosting an event for now-House Financial Services Chair French Hill (R-Ark.) in October.
Haun Ventures’ investments have focused largely on crypto infrastructure projects, including backing the stablecoin firm Bridge ahead of its $1.1 billion acquisition by the payments unicorn Stripe, along with the stablecoin firm BVNK. She’s also invested in secondaries of the crypto unicorn companies Chainalysis and Fireblocks.
Her team lost two key members in the last year, including operating partner Chris Lehane, who joined OpenAI as its chief global affairs officer, and investor Sam Rosenblum, who joined the crypto wallet Phantom as a vice president. Lehane is still an advisor. Haun Ventures added Anchorage cofounder Diogo Mónica as a general partner last May.
