Fred Ehrsam, co-founder of the crypto investment firm Paradigm, stepped down as managing partner on October 24, 2023. He took a general partner role instead, CoinDesk reported1. Ehrsam announced the change in a post on X that day. He also emailed Paradigm employees the same Tuesday, Bloomberg Law reported2.
Two leadership moves at Paradigm on the record since 2022
Every move CryptoLately has verified there, by the day it became public
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| June 6, 2022 | Biber became CLO. Katie Biber was named Chief Legal Officer of Paradigm |
| Oct. 24, 2023 | Ehrsam left as Managing Partner. Fred Ehrsam left as Managing Partner of Paradigm |
Eight executive exits on the record in 2023
Executive exits CryptoLately has verified, by year; 2026 through Oct. 2, 2026
- 2023: 8
- 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025, 2026
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 6 |
| 2020 | 1 |
| 2021 | 9 |
| 2022 | 9 |
| 2023 | 8 |
| 2024 | 11 |
| 2025 | 20 |
| 2026 | 27 |
The move
“This change allows me to carve out some time to explore areas of science that are of personal passion for me,” Ehrsam wrote in the email Bloomberg Law obtained2. He added that he would “continue to work with our investing & research teams, work with portfolio companies, and fight for good crypto policy, while focusing less on the day to day management of the firm,” CoinDesk reported1.
Ehrsam pointed to a decade of conviction behind the shift. “I've spent more than a decade on crypto and I am more confident than ever that crypto will be one of the most world-changing technologies of the coming decades,” he said1. He traced his interest in biology to crypto's own history, citing “a long pre-history of crypto interest in the frontiers of bio, from Hal Finney and cryogenics” to more recent longevity research backed by other crypto figures.
Paradigm before and after
Ehrsam co-founded Paradigm with Matt Huang in 2018. The two had helped build the crypto exchange Coinbase with Brian Armstrong before that, CoinDesk reported1. Huang and the firm's chief operating officer, Alana Palmedo, stayed on as Paradigm's managing partners once Ehrsam moved to the general partner role. Weeks earlier, Huang had testified in the criminal trial of former FTX chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried. He told the court that FTX's collapse cost Paradigm $278 million in lost investments, CoinDesk reported.
What came next
Ehrsam's science ambitions took shape fast. The Block's profile of Ehrsam reports that he co-founded Nudge, a startup focused on treating neurological disorders, in January 20243. He has stayed on at Paradigm as general partner since. The firm has kept growing too: The Block reports that Paradigm raised a fourth fund of $1.2 billion on July 8, 2026, this one expanding its investing beyond crypto into AI and robotics.
Sources
- Helene Braun, "Co-Founder of Paradigm, a Top Crypto Investor, Steps Down as Managing Partner to Focus on Science," CoinDesk, October 24, 2023, https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/10/24/co-founder-of-top-crypto-investor-paradigm-steps-down-as-managing-partner-becomes-general-partner
- Olga Kharif, "Paradigm's Fred Ehrsam Relinquishes Managing Partner Role," Bloomberg Law, October 24, 2023, https://news.bloomberglaw.com/crypto/paradigms-ehrsam-relinquishes-managing-partner-role-at-vc-firm
- "Notable Crypto Personalities: Fred Ehrsam," The Block, July 8, 2026, https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiX0FVX3lxTE5ycmRoTkd1NGlIMlpRYzF6S2JVSG1ZcV8wc2NsSzlyb3NZSU9tcXRXcXNaYXg5OF9YaV9hbVNyNGJ4eTBfZ3E3ckpQREEydXM4VkE5VkxTd0dOWmdqemd3?oc=5