As the political climate grows increasingly hostile toward the crypto industry—with the Securities and Exchange Commission handing out lawsuits like candy—opportunities overseas are looking more appealing for venture funds. On Sunday, Andreessen Horowitz and its $7.6 billion a16z crypto fund announced its first-ever international office, opening its umbrella like a VC Mary Poppins and flying off to London.
On a Friday video call, as the crypto industry was still reeling from the one-two SEC punch against Coinbase and Binance, a16z crypto head Chris Dixon told me that the move does not mean the firm has given up on the U.S. Instead, it is acknowledging the increasing difficulty of doing business here. “What’s going on now with the Biden administration is they’re basically just trying to kill off the technology,” he said.
