[ad_1]
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Andreessen Horowitz is closing its London office and pulling back from its much-touted expansion into the UK, as the Silicon Valley investor seeks to refocus on the US cryptocurrency industry following the election of Donald Trump.
The group made a high-profile entry into the British capital in 2023, opening its first office outside the US with a focus on the UK’s crypto industry amid a crackdown on digital assets by American regulators.
The Financial Times reported on Friday that the venture capital firm had signalled to local entrepreneurs and policymakers that it would scale back the time and money it intended to invest in the country.
Soon after, Anthony Albanese, a managing director at the group who helps to lead its crypto investments, announced the firm would close its UK offices altogether.
“We’re excited by the enthusiasm for crypto building and adoption in the UK and are encouraged by the recent positive policy announcements and actions. However, we have chosen to focus on the US given the new administration’s strong policy momentum and will therefore be closing our UK office,” wrote Albanese on X.
“This doesn’t change our confidence in the UK’s growing role in crypto and blockchain. 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.”
The partner originally tapped to lead the UK effort, Sriram Krishnan, stepped away from his London-based role last year before leaving the company altogether to join the Trump administration in recent weeks.
Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, the firm’s founders, have become supporters of Trump, while advising him on technology policy.
The switch comes as Trump signed an executive order on Thursday aimed at promoting cryptocurrencies in the US and working towards potentially developing a national digital asset stockpile.
Prices in tokens such as bitcoin have soared since Trump’s election, under the belief that the new administration will advocate light-touch regulation of the crypto sector.
Andreessen Horowitz opened its London office with official fanfare two years ago, with then prime minister Rishi Sunak saying he was “thrilled” at the group’s arrival, and that the move was a “testament to our world-class universities and talent and our strong competitive business environment”.
At the time, Andreessen Horowitz, which has $43bn of committed capital, made much of its push into the UK, having invested in a number of UK-based crypto companies including Arweave, Aztec and Improbable.
“London is a major financial hub, it’s a major tech hub and frankly it’s a very attractive place for people to live,” Chris Dixon, who leads Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto investments, said to the FT in 2023.
One UK official downplayed the US investor’s reduced ambitions in the country, saying: “They were never really here.”
[ad_2]
Source link
