A spokesperson from Barclays, a prominent financial conglomerate, has stated that politicians have neglected to address the regulation of the cryptocurrency industry for a prolonged period of time, believing that the industry would ultimately cease to exist.
However, this prediction has not come to fruition. During a discussion held at London’s Citi Digital Money Symposium, Nicole Sandler, the head of digital policy at Barclays, shared her opinion that the government’s sluggishness was intentional.
“I recall that some legislators thought they could allow the cryptocurrency market to develop organically because they believed it would eventually die out. However, the market not only survived, but it also flourished.”
Drawing upon her experiences in 2016 when a Barclays representative spoke to the European Commission regarding the regulation of digital assets, Sandler believes that the cryptocurrency industry developed independently, without significant involvement from lawmakers until recently.
“They chose to remain uninvolved and monitor the market’s progress. Now, they understand the necessity of regulating the market. The challenge, however, is that regulation is a time-consuming process.”
It is worth noting that despite the US Federal Reserve System’s recent decisions, cryptocurrencies have responded to developments with modest growth.