In an intriguing turn of events, it seems like venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has decided to cash in on some of its investments in crypto lender MakerDAO’s MKR governance tokens, as they reached a near yearly high. Looking at the numbers, around $7 million of MKR were shunted from a16z’s crypto wallet to a newly minted address only last Thursday, a finding thanks to monitoring by Ethereum blockchain Etherscan.
Adding more fuel to this financial fire, the new address went ahead and started depositing almost 1,380 tokens, or roughly $1.5 million, on a daily basis to crypto exchange Coinbase. A move that is typically indicative of a desire to sell. As of Tuesday, the sale amounted to around $6.1 million.
Now, of course, this set of transactions are far from one-sided. The value of MKR posted a commendable surge last Friday, peaking at a high above $1,200 on the back of a new token buyback scheme. Although the price did experience a slight dip, going as low as $1,040 on Monday, it has managed a subsequent rise of 10% to its present $1,140 mark.
So, what does this mean for MakerDAO, one of the largest decentralized finance (DeFi) lending platforms, and famed issuer of the $4.6 billion stablecoin DAI? MKR token holders, like a16z, could vote on governance proposals. However, the protocol is presently in the midst of a massive overhaul, led by founder Rune Christensen, who plans to break up the protocol’s units into SubDAOs. This received mixed feedback from community members though, with a16z voicing objections to the plan under the argument that the existing structure was already adequately decentralized.
Despite these sales, a16z still holds a hefty 12,395 MKR – around 1.3% of its circulating supply – valued at a cool $14 million as per data from blockchain forensics platform Arkham Intelligence. As always, the crypto world continues to be a whirlwind of change and adaptation, a crucial reminder of the importance of staying clued up on the latest happenings.
A tale of selling or foresight? A question of effective strategy or cautionary misstep? Only time will tell. However, one thing is certain: the world of crypto never fails to captivate its audience.
Source: Coindesk
