Eddy Lazzarin is the Chief Technology Officer of Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) crypto — the firm’s dedicated blockchain investing unit — within which he is responsible for the technical engineering infrastructure supporting a16z’s crypto operations, co-authoring research and analytical writing on cryptographic protocols and web3 design patterns, and serving as a technical resource for the firm’s GPs during investment due diligence on protocol architecture and smart contract systems.
Background
Eddy Lazzarin is an engineer and computer scientist who joined the Andreessen Horowitz crypto team in the early phase of the firm’s dedicated crypto investing operations (circa 2018-2019). As CTO of a16z crypto, he occupies a role distinct from the firm’s General Partners: rather than leading investment decisions, he provides technical infrastructure, research support, and engineering depth to the broader team.
Technical Writing at a16z
Lazzarin is co-author of several pieces of technical writing that circulated widely in the crypto research community:
“Crypto: From Niche to Infrastructure” (with Chris Dixon)
One of several collaborative publications Lazzarin has contributed to at a16z’s research blog, analyzing how crypto infrastructure matures from experimental applications to foundational internet infrastructure — drawing parallels to prior waves of internet adoption.
“Not All Blockchain Uses Are Equal”
Lazzarin co-authored analytical pieces distinguishing between blockchain applications based on their actual need for decentralization vs. applications that could be served equally well by centralized databases, providing a useful taxonomy for evaluating whether specific applications genuinely benefit from on-chain settlement.
State of Crypto Report
a16z has published annual “State of Crypto” reports measuring blockchain adoption, developer activity, and ecosystem growth. Lazzarin has been involved in the technical methodology for these reports, which track metrics like unique active addresses, smart contract deployments, and developer commits to blockchain repositories.
Engineering Infrastructure
As CTO, Lazzarin oversees the technical tools and systems a16z uses to:
- Analyze on-chain data for investment research.
- Evaluate smart contract codebases during diligence.
- Build internal tooling for tracking portfolio company technical progress.
- Support technical research publications.
This is distinct from the engineering departments of a16z portfolio companies, which are independent organizations.
Key Dates
- 2018–2019 — Joins a16z crypto as CTO around the time of the firm’s initial crypto funds.
- 2020 — a16z Crypto Fund II ($515M). a16z research blog expands technical publications.
- 2021 — a16z Crypto Fund III ($2.2B). “State of Crypto” reports begin gaining industry traction.
- 2022 — a16z Crypto Fund IV ($4.5B); continued research output through bear market.
- 2023 — a16z State of Crypto report gains recognition as a benchmark industry data source.
Common Misconceptions
- “The a16z crypto CTO leads portfolio company engineering.” — Lazzarin’s role is internal to the a16z venture firm itself. He does not manage engineers at portfolio companies; those teams are independent.
- “Eddy Lazzarin is one of a16z’s investment GPs.” — He is CTO, not a GP. He does not make final investment decisions but supports technical evaluation for GPs who do.
Last updated: 2026-04