Outside Source
The London building, opened in 2023 while UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was in office, will be shuttered in favor of focusing on the venture capital firm’s US operations.
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Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz will be pulling back its operations in the UK in response to US President Donald Trump’s “strong policy momentum” on crypto.
In a Jan. 24 X post, Anthony Albanese, chief operating officer of Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto arm, said the firm had been encouraged by “enthusiasm for crypto building and adoption” in the UK but still planned to close its office. According to Albanese, the venture capital company intended to focus its efforts on the US market based on Trump’s actions during his first week in office.
“This doesn’t change our confidence in the UK’s growing role in crypto and blockchain,” said the a16z Crypto chief operating officer. “We will continue to invest in great entrepreneurs no matter where they are in the world, including the UK. We also remain ready to help the UK with its ongoing crypto efforts.”
Source: Anthony Albanese
The venture capital firm opened its London crypto office in 2023, saying at the time the country was a “predictable business environment.” Former Conservative Party leader Rishi Sunak was serving as UK prime minister at the time, but power shifted to the Labour Party following a July 2024 election.
Related: a16z sees ‘greater flexibility to experiment’ with crypto under Trump
Under Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the UK government has announced plans to introduce a comprehensive crypto regulation framework by 2026. The PM said in January that the government also intended to adopt a 50-point artificial intelligence action plan as part of a strategy to help drive economic growth.
Crypto policy in US vs. UK
Since taking office on Jan. 20 in the US, Trump has signed an executive order aimed at establishing a working group to explore regulations around stablecoins and a strategic crypto reserve. The US Securities and Exchange Commission — now down to three commissioners after the departure of former Chair Gary Gensler — said it would form a crypto task force for developing a crypto market framework.
Marc Andreessen, the co-founder of the venture capital firm bearing his name, contributed more than $5 million to US political action committees (PACs) as part of Trump’s 2024 presidential race and $22 million to the Fairshake PAC for its efforts to help elect “pro-crypto” congressional candidates. He previously described himself as an “unpaid intern” for Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s government efficiency committee under Trump, which is already facing lawsuits following the Jan. 20 inauguration.
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This article first appeared at Cointelegraph.com News
