Valeria Nikolaenko

Valeria Nikolaenko is a Research Partner at a16z crypto, where she advises portfolio companies on research endeavors. Additionally, she works on research projects that focus on cryptography and blockchain security for the benefit of the web3 community. She has worked on topics such as long-range attacks in PoS consensus protocols, signature schemes, post-quantum security, and multi-party computation.

Prior to joining a16z crypto, Valeria was a Research Scientist at the Diem blockchain. Before that she completed her PhD in Cryptography at Stanford University under advisorship of Professor Dan Boneh, and did a cycling expedition crossing the South America continent.

Valeria enjoys sailing, bike-touring and cross-country skiing.