Andreessen Horowitz to open first office outside the U.S. in London in bet UK will become crypto hub

LONDON — Andreessen Horowitz is opening its archetypal bureau extracurricular of the U.S. successful London, the task superior steadfast announced Monday.

Andreessen Horowitz, a Silicon Valley task superior steadfast that has backed starring tech companies from Airbnb to Coinbase, said it was looking to instrumentality vantage of what it sees arsenic a much welcoming situation for crypto entrepreneurs successful the U.K. The steadfast believes that the U.K. volition go a planetary person successful crypto, blockchain and integer currencies.

The U.S. has been cracking down connected the crypto manufacture lately, with the Securities and Exchange Commission announcing lawsuits against crypto titans Binance and Coinbase past week. Essentially, the SEC is arguing that galore crypto tokens should beryllium classified arsenic securities, which would taxable them to overmuch stricter oversight and transparency requirements.

The U.K. earlier this yea also projected its archetypal ceremonial regulations of the crypto industry, seeking to clamp down connected practices successful the manufacture successful the aftermath of the illness of FTX, a crypto speech erstwhile worthy $32 billion. Many crypto investors accidental this would supply much clarity, peculiarly arsenic they are facing heightened uncertainty successful the U.S.

"The premier minister's enactment is critical, but we person seen a fantastic openness to the committedness of the technology, arsenic good arsenic a beardown involvement successful immoderate regulatory authorities comes online, focusing connected user protection," Brian Quintenz, caput of argumentation astatine Andreessen Horowitz, told CNBC successful an interview.

"Frankly I don't deliberation this existent medication successful United States is doing either — it's a infinitesimal successful a clip erstwhile the U.K. acts nimbly and quickly, but robustly."

Sriram Krishnan, an ex-Twitter worker who joined Andreessen Horowitz arsenic a wide partner, volition relocate to London to caput up the firm's bureau there, Quintenz said.

Andreessen Horowitz besides plans to motorboat its archetypal crypto startup schoolhouse successful the U.K. successful a bid to place aboriginal endowment successful the crypto and Web3 space. The steadfast launched a schoolhouse to manager entrepreneurs connected gathering blockchain and cryptocurrency companies successful 2019.

Andreessen Horowitz has been 1 of the astir progressive investors successful crypto and Web3, backing startups ranging from the crypto-based sports collectibles trading crippled Dapper Labs to nonfungible token marketplace OpenSea.

But it has felt the chilling effects of a downturn known arsenic "crypto winter" successful the past 18 months, pursuing large collapses similar the spectacular bankruptcy of FTX. (Andreessen was not an investor, but respective rival firms, including Sequoia, were.)

The firm's committedness to unfastened a beingness successful the U.K. suggests semipermanent content successful the crypto market, astatine slightest extracurricular the U.S.

"In presumption of the United States, determination is tremendous uncertainty present — that's a benignant connection — there's plentifulness of accidental to make much uncertainty, that has not been embraced," Quintenz told CNBC.

"We're seeing regularisation by enforcement that does thing to recognize benefits of the exertion oregon clasp entrepreneurs innovators trying to physique adjacent iteration."

WATCH: Crypto enthusiasts privation to remake the net with ‘Web3.’ Here’s what that means