Crypto billionaire says regulatory scrutiny may be ‘a good thing for the industry’

Crypto billionaire says regulatory scrutiny may be ‘a good thing for the industry’

The recent regulatory scrutiny on cryptocurrency is "very healthy" for the sector, crypto billionaire Wu Jihan told CNBC on Tuesday. "I think that such kind of crackdown may be a good thing for the industry in long term," Wu said on the sidelines of the conference. Wu, co-founder and chairman of digital asset financial services platform Matrixport, said regulatory action weeds out bad actors while improving the reputation of the industry. Still, the regulatory pressure is "stronger than before," said Wu, who is also the former CEO and chairman of bitcoin mining giant Bitmain. Wu's net worth was estimated to be $1.8 billion as of November, . "It's a fast growing financial sector," Wu said. "It's growing almost to like a trillion dollar market cap industry, and more than 10% of the United States' citizen have already got some involvement with cryptocurrency." Regulatory concerns have weighed heavily on investor sentiment, pressuring cryptocurrency prices. Bitcoin surged in the first part of 2021 and hit an all-time high, but closed out the first half of the year . In April, U.S. Federal Reserve Chair called cryptocurrencies " ." Meanwhile, China's crypto crackdown has been underway since at least 2017, but . Energy-intensive