London-based Blockchain.com CEO Peter Smith told a Qatar Economic Forum session that there is now “real growth” in the sector.
Smith explained how other countries are taking advantage of the vacuum left by the United States, where some have adopted “publicly negative” attitudes towards cryptocurrency.
While some U.S. lawmakers want to establish rules for the cryptocurrency market, regulators have taken a hard line due to fears of money laundering and fraud.
“France, Portugal, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Hong Kong and London … were all very keen to fill the void left by the United States,” Smith said.
“Thousands of talented people (…) have left the United States” to go elsewhere over the past year, he added.
“We are investing in Singapore and investing heavily in Europe…at the expense of investing in America. The vast majority of our resources and capital investments are outside of the United States,” Smith said.
Regulators around the world have expressed concern about the lack of control over cryptocurrencies, but there has been a trend in many countries to regulate the sector.
Last week, EU ministers approved measures to tackle tax evasion using cryptocurrencies.
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