How Soona Amhaz is Reshaping Early-Stage Crypto Investing with Volt Capital's $50M Fund

Soona Amhaz has become one of the most active voices in early-stage crypto venture capital, with her firm Volt Capital closing an impressive $50 million second fund backed by some of the industry’s most influential names. The new fund represents a significant milestone in Amhaz’s mission to identify and support transformative projects at their earliest stages, a strategy that contrasts sharply with how larger venture firms operate.

Volt Capital’s ability to secure backing from Marc Andreessen and Chris Dixon—both General Partners at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)—alongside prominent investors like Elad Gil, Albert Wenger from Union Square Ventures, Tiger Global, and Brevan Howard, signals strong confidence in Soona Amhaz’s investment thesis. These are not casual backers; they represent the vanguard of crypto venture capital, meaning the fund’s success could shape an entire generation of blockchain projects.

The Volt Capital Story: From $10M Pioneer Fund to $50M Growth Stage

Volt Capital’s journey exemplifies the rapid evolution of crypto venture capital. The firm launched its first fund—a $10 million investment vehicle—back in April 2021, establishing itself as one of the founding members of the DeFi Alliance, an accelerator program designed to nurture blockchain infrastructure projects.

The five-fold increase in fund size from $10 million to $50 million reflects growing confidence in Soona Amhaz’s approach and the expanding opportunities in the crypto ecosystem. This capital expansion allows Volt to participate more meaningfully in funding rounds while maintaining its core focus on pre-seed, seed, and Series A investments—the exact stages that larger, billion-dollar venture funds often overlook or deprioritize.

Star-Backed Fund: Understanding Volt Capital’s Strategic Positioning

The decision to grow the fund size comes at a crucial moment for Soona Amhaz and Volt Capital. By securing commitments from a16z General Partners Marc Andreessen and Chris Dixon, along with other heavyweight institutions, the fund gains not just capital but also significant credibility and access to industry networks.

Each of these investors brings a distinct perspective to blockchain development. a16z, for instance, has been exploring a “price-innovation cycle” thesis—the idea that market downturns create optimal conditions for developer and startup growth, even as media attention and user acquisition slow. This philosophical alignment with Soona Amhaz’s own market perspective suggests that the backers are confident in her ability to identify breakout projects even in challenging market conditions.

Infrastructure and Innovation: Where Volt Capital Sees Opportunity

According to Soona Amhaz, the investment thesis for Volt Capital centers on “founders who are reimagining the systems and infrastructure that support everyday activities.” This framework is broader than it might initially appear. Amhaz points to payments processing, digital authentication, and gaming as three sectors where blockchain technology could deliver transformative disruption.

Rather than chasing speculative tokens or quick gains, Volt focuses on the foundational technologies and protocols that could reshape how we transact, verify identity, and build interactive digital experiences. This infrastructure-first approach aligns with investments across DeFi protocols, NFT platforms, and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs)—the core categories where the fund deploys capital.

The scope encompasses early-stage projects that traditional venture capital might view as too nascent, too risky, or too specialized. Soona Amhaz’s willingness to write checks at the pre-seed and seed stages means Volt can identify opportunities years before they reach mainstream recognition.

Why This Is the “Right Time” to Invest in Crypto Startups

Perhaps most intriguingly, Soona Amhaz articulates a contrarian view of market timing. As crypto markets experienced pronounced downturns throughout 2022 and beyond, most investors retreated. Yet Amhaz remained bullish on the opportunity set, declaring it “the exact right time to be doubling down” on early-stage investments.

This perspective aligns with how many sophisticated venture investors think about market cycles. When prices are elevated, speculative interest floods the ecosystem but genuine innovation can be harder to discern. Conversely, market downturns drive away casual participants, leaving a core group of determined builders and founders committed to solving real problems rather than chasing quick profits.

Soona Amhaz’s public statements suggest she views the current climate not as a crisis but as a reset—a period when the quality of founders and projects tends to improve, even if the overall market sentiment appears pessimistic.

The Broader Market Context

The timing of Volt Capital’s $50M fund raise coincides with significant activity across the broader crypto venture ecosystem. Andreessen Horowitz itself announced a $4.5 billion crypto fund—its fourth such vehicle—underscoring sustained institutional appetite for blockchain technology investments despite market turbulence.

This demonstrates that despite periodic downturns and setbacks like the Blockfills lending platform freezing deposits in February, institutional investors remain committed to the long-term potential of crypto infrastructure and decentralized finance. Soona Amhaz’s Volt Capital represents one strategic bet within this larger landscape of sustained institutional commitment to blockchain innovation.