Algorand Foundation returns to US, citing crypto-friendly pivot
After years in Singapore, the Algorand Foundation is returning to the US with a brand-new board of directors, the organisation said on Wednesday.
The move comes on the eve of a high-stakes vote on landmark crypto legislation and just one week after another crypto nonprofit, the Jito Foundation, celebrated its return to the US from the Cayman Islands.
“We’re doubling down where blockchain can make the most significant difference: instant global payments, expanded access to financial products, and improved economic resilience,” Algorand Foundation CEO Staci Warden said in a statement.
“By re-establishing our presence in the U.S., Algorand is helping ensure U.S. leadership for the next generation of financial infrastructure.”
The foundation also said it would create an “Ecosystem Advisory Council” featuring Algorand stakers, companies building applications on the blockchain, and others.
The Algorand Foundation supports development on the Algorand blockchain, founded in 2017 by MIT professor Silvio Micali.
Reached through a spokesperson, Algorand Foundation Chief Legal Officer Jennie Levin said the move was motivated by the blockchain’s US origin, as well as the country’s crypto-friendly pivot and its concentration of capital and engineering talent.
Many prominent crypto foundations have set up shop outside the US despite supporting technology built there. The Cardano and Solana foundations, for example, are both based in Switzerland despite supporting blockchains co-founded by US-based software engineers Charles Hoskinson and Anatoly Yakovenko, respectively.
The Eigen and Arbitrum foundations are based in the Cayman Islands despite supporting companies based almost entirely in the US.
In a recent blog post explaining the Jito Foundation’s return to the US, Jito Labs CEO Lucas Bruder cited the US’ 180-degree turn on crypto policy after the inauguration of President Donald Trump in January.
On Thursday, lawmakers on the Senate’s Banking Committee will take a vote on landmark crypto legislation that would settle a long-running debate over the regulatory status of cryptocurrencies.
“With this more productive approach to innovation, one focused on clear laws and guardrails for consumers and market participants, crypto operations, projects and business can and should return to operating in the United States,” he wrote.
The Foundation celebrated the homecoming at an event in Washington, DC last week featuring policymakers, regulators, and crypto entrepreneurs.
“This is not just a party,” an online invite read. “It is a milestone in a movement to restore U.S. leadership in open financial technology.”
Aleks Gilbert is DL News’ New York-based DeFi correspondent. You can contact him at aleks@dlnews.com.
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