Key Takeaways
- The closure of the London office comes as the firm realigns its strategy in response to a series of pro-crypto developments in the United States
- Albanese added that the firm remains confident in the UK’s potential in the crypto sector and would continue investing in promising entrepreneurs globally
Leading venture capital firms, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), has announced the closure of its London office to concentrate on opportunities within the United States. This move marks a strategic retreat from its high-profile UK expansion in 2023, which had initially been celebrated as a boost for the country’s ambitions to become a global hub for crypto and blockchain innovation.
Anthony Albanese, Chief Operating Officer of a16z’s $7.6 billion crypto division, took to X (formerly Twitter), to announce the move “We have chosen to focus on the US given the new administration’s strong policy momentum and will therefore be closing our UK office.”
Albanese further added that the firm remains confident in the UK’s potential in the crypto sector and would continue investing in promising entrepreneurs globally, including those in the UK.
Andreessen Horowitz’s London office was its first international outpost, launched under the leadership of Sriram Krishnan, a general partner at the firm.
However, Krishnan stepped down from his role last year and has since joined the Trump administration as a senior adviser on artificial intelligence. His departure, along with shifting regulatory and political dynamics in both countries, appears to have influenced the firm’s decision to exit the UK market.
The closure of the London office comes as the firm realigns its strategy in response to a series of pro-crypto developments in the United States under the new administration led by President Donald Trump.
In the first week of his presidency, Trump signed a significant executive order aimed at fostering a favorable environment for cryptocurrency growth. The order established a working group to explore creating a national digital asset stockpile and introduced measures to ease restrictions on financial institutions, such as the repeal of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) controversial SAB 121 policy.
The UK expansion of a16z was initially viewed as a win for the government of former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who had expressed enthusiasm for the country’s role in the crypto industry. Sunak, at the time, hailed the firm’s entry as evidence of the UK’s competitive business environment and its potential to lead in blockchain innovation. However, the subsequent change in government, with a Labour administration less committed to advancing crypto-friendly regulations, has coincided with a16z’s decision to scale back its UK ambitions.
Andreessen Horowitz had previously invested in several UK-based crypto projects, including decentralized storage network Arweave, Ethereum-based privacy protocol Aztec, and web3 platform Improbable. Despite withdrawing from the UK market, Albanese emphasized that the firm would maintain its global investment strategy, supporting entrepreneurs wherever opportunities arise.
The firm’s founders, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, have also been closely involved in advising the Trump administration on technology policy. Chris Dixon, who leads the firm’s crypto investments, stated in 2023 that the UK had been an attractive location due to its financial and technological significance, but the current policy momentum in the US appears to have shifted priorities.
