The UK government spent five years lobbying Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), one of the world’s biggest VC firms, to choose London as its first overseas base — only for the firm to close its office within 18 months of its announcement.
The stalwart Silicon Valley investor confirmed plans for a London office in June 2023 with much fanfare. Hosting the first overseas edition of its crypto accelerator in London shortly after, the VC firm’s lead in the region Sriram Krishnan told Sifted last year a16z was “all-in” on the UK.
According to documents obtained via a Freedom of Information request filed by Sifted, a16z’s arrival was the “culmination of five years of proactive account management” by the Department of Business and Trade.
On Friday, however, the lobbying efforts went up in smoke as the VC firm announced it was closing up shop in the UK to focus on the US crypto market in the wake of Donald Trump’s election.
‘The optics mean a lot to business guys, particularly if you’re an American VC.’
“They almost came here to make a point to the US,” a person familiar with the wider situation told Sifted. “The US was crypto-unfriendly at the time and the UK said it would set out a regulatory roadmap.”
In a February 2024 meeting between then-business secretary Kevin Hollinrake and Brian Quintenz, a16z’s global head of policy, the latter cited the UK’s “world-class tech talent, dedication to clear regulatory rules and an entrepreneurial ecosystem” as the reason behind his company’s push into London.
At the time, the US Securities and Exchange Commission was turning up the heat on crypto, with more than 100 enforcement actions filed against the sector in recent years.
At an April 2023 meeting between a16z and the then-economic secretary to the Treasury, Andrew Griffith, Quintenz said the debate over crypto regulation in the US has become “highly politicised”.
“The lack of regulatory clarity in the US is helping bad actors and hurting good ones, as those who follow ethical and regulatory good practice are left at a competitive disadvantage,” notes from the meeting said.
An a16z representative declined to comment.
Political change
But a combination of the election of the crypto-friendly Trump and the slow progress of crypto regulation in the UK changed things. On Thursday, the new president signed an executive order designed to “strengthen American leadership” in cryptocurrencies.
“Now, the US is extremely crypto-friendly,” the person said. And while the roadmap for crypto regulation goes live in 2026, “most crypto firms have already left the UK”. The change of government in the UK hasn’t helped things either, another crypto industry insider tells Sifted.
The UK’s previous economic secretary Bim Afolami had made a public push for crypto regulation but his replacement under the new Labour government, Tulip Siddiq, didn’t make crypto a priority and cancelled several meetings with crypto companies, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
“Tulip didn’t meet with a single crypto company,” said a crypto industry insider. “The optics mean a lot to business guys particularly if you’re an American VC.”
Siddiq did not respond to a request for comment.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/andreessen-horowitz-london-office/
