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Most Influential 2021: Arianna Simpson

The a16z general partner is investing in the future of the internet, Web 3.

(Adam B. Levine/Pixelmind.ai)
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Arianna Simpson’s trip to Zimbabwe in 2013 changed her life. But it was the experience of using Western Union, and the platform’s extortionary fees, to send money to the family she sponsored that changed her mind on crypto. Now a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), she helps to manage the massively influential venture capital firm’s $2.2 billion crypto fund. Simpson previously spent time at Facebook and BitGo. She’s also run her own investment funds, Autonomous Partners, which focused on digital assets, and Crystal Towers Capital, which worked with early-stage startups.

The Complete List: CoinDesk’s Most Influential 2021

(Kevin Ross/CoinDesk)
(Kevin Ross/CoinDesk)
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Multisig Failures Dominate as $2B Is Lost in Web3 Hacks in the First Half

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A wave of multisig-related hacks and operational misconfiguration led to catastrophic losses in the first half of 2025.

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  • Hacken urges real-time monitoring and automated controls to prevent operational failures.