Algorand Foundation Announces Return to the United States with New Board and Strategic Vision for Blockchain Leadership

Return to U.S. headquarters reinforces the Foundation's momentum and its vision to shape the future of financial empowerment

DOVER, Del., Jan. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Algorand Foundation today announced its return to the United States and the appointment of a newly constituted board to guide the next phase of its strategic growth. Originating from pioneering research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Algorand Foundation will re-establish its U.S. headquarters in Delaware, reinforcing its long-term commitment to financial empowerment and U.S. leadership in blockchain innovation.

As part of this transition, the Foundation introduced its newly appointed board, an exceptional group of leaders from finance, technology, and regulatory policy, each bringing expertise critical to Algorand's mission. The new board's immediate mandate will be to oversee the Foundation's expanded U.S. operations and guide new initiatives in global payments, asset tokenization, and other pillars of financial empowerment. The board includes Bill Barhydt, Founder and CEO of Abra (Chair); Alex Holmes, Executive Vice Chairman of United Texas Bank Dallas, and former CEO of MoneyGram; Michael Mosier, Co-Founder of Arktouros PLLC and former Acting Director at U.S. Treasury FinCEN; Rebecca Rettig, CLO of Jito Labs; and Staci Warden, CEO of the Algorand Foundation.

"I'm honored and excited to join the Algorand Foundation's board of directors," said Bill Barhydt, Founder and CEO of Abra. "As the world of finance moves 100% on-chain, institutions, developers and users will demand blockchain and smart contract platforms that are secure, fast, scalable and easily programmable. Algorand checks all these boxes with deep experience building the cutting-edge infrastructure necessary for this shift. I look forward to contributing to its success as we explore ways to advance on-chain markets and products."

This renewed commitment to the U.S. comes at a time when Algorand's technology is already being used to solve practical financial challenges around the world, the same kinds of use cases the Foundation plans to expand through its U.S. presence: Lofty is broadening access to real estate investments, HesabPay is improving the efficiency and cost of cross-border payments, Folks Finance is bringing collateralized debt products on-chain, and Conio is enabling the tokenization of real-world assets.

"Algorand has always stood for empowering people with blockchain technology," said Staci Warden, CEO of the Algorand Foundation. "Now we're doubling down where blockchain can make the most significant difference: instant global payments, expanded access to financial products, and improved economic resilience. By re-establishing our presence in the U.S., Algorand is helping ensure U.S. leadership for the next generation of financial infrastructure."

As part of this next chapter, the Algorand Foundation also reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening ecosystem representation and engagement. The Foundation will soon announce an Ecosystem Advisory Council in order to create a meaningful channel for the ecosystem to inform the Foundation's strategic direction. Chaired by Paweł (Urtho) Pierścionek, founder of Nodely, the Advisory Council will comprise community members, key ecosystem projects, and large protocol stakers. Urtho will also act as technical advisor to the board.

This milestone reflects the Foundation's growing global momentum and its commitment to shaping the future of blockchain technology in the United States.

About Algorand

Algorand is a public layer-1 blockchain built for financial empowerment. Algorand offers tools to move money across borders, issue and manage assets, verify identity, and develop services that rely on dependable performance and instant settlement. Developers and organizations use Algorand to create practical tools for payments, identity, asset tokenization, public records, and other financial services. Algorand's all-in-one blockchain infrastructure powers financial apps that are easy to build, simple to use, and unlock economic opportunity for users.

Today, the Algorand ecosystem spans startups, developers, governments, and global partners building real-world financial and digital asset solutions. With Algorand, you decide where your money lives, how it moves, and who can access it. To learn more and join the financial empowerment movement, visit algorand.co.