London, big winner of the current turmoil in the cryptosphere? This hypothesis is gaining momentum as the famous American fund Andreessen Horowitz, alias a16z, has decided to open its first office outside the United States in London by the end of the year. This antenna should allow the fund to develop its crypto branch and its start-up ecosystem in the United Kingdom and Europe. London will also host the Crypto Startup School accelerator in the spring of 2024 to help launch Web3 projects. Bad news for Paris and Brussels, which are trying to take advantage of Brexit to attract more technological investment to the Old Continent.
But Andreessen Horowitz also preferred London to the United States, while the American stock market policeman, the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), makes life difficult for the two giants of the sector, Coinbase and Binance. “We have worked with policymakers and regulators around the world, and during our discussions it has become clear that the UK government sees the promise of Web3, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak suggesting that the UK can become a hub for innovation from Web3. UK authorities are also willing to work with industry to create policies that incentivize start-ups to pursue decentralization.”explains Chris Dixon, general partner of the American fund.
Favorite London over Paris and Brussels
Beyond the attitude of the British authorities towards cryptocurrencies and Web3, the entrepreneur also believes that Great Britain is staying one step ahead of other leaders in European Tech. “The UK also has vast pools of talent, world-class academic institutions and a strong entrepreneurial culture. It is home to more unicorns than Germany, France and Sweden combined; some of the biggest markets financial and capital pools of the world; and highly sophisticated, world-class regulators. All these elements position the UK as a leader in the Web3″assures Chris Dixon.
Still, the opening of this London office to develop the crypto branch of Andreessen Horowitz confirms the venture capital firm’s interest in the sector. Last year, a16z launched a $4.5 billion crypto mega-fund. Chris Dixon claimed then that “we are entering the golden age of Web3”. And if the sector took a turn for the worse in the wake of a plummeting cryptosphere in the last months of 2022, the “crypto” gentleman of the American fund is growing hard as iron in this sector over the long term. term.