While participating in an international forum in Doha on Thursday, the head of a leading cryptocurrency company said that thousands of cryptocurrency developers have left the US because of the negative attitude towards the sector.

Peter Smith, CEO of London-based Blockchain.com, explained at a session at the Qatar Economic Forum that there is now “real growth” in the sector.

Smith talked about how other countries are taking advantage of the vacuum left by the U.S., as some adopt “generally negative” attitudes toward cryptocurrency.

While some US lawmakers want to set rules for the cryptocurrency market, regulators have taken a tougher line due to fears of money laundering and fraud.

“France, Portugal, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Hong Kong and London (…) were very keen to fill the gap left by the US,” Smith said.

He added that “thousands of talented people (…) have left America” ​​in the past year.

“We invest in Singapore and we invest in Europe (…) more at the expense of investing in the US. Most of our resources and capital investments are outside of the US,” Smith said.

Regulators around the world have expressed concern over the lack of regulation over cryptocurrencies but there is a trend towards regulating the sector in many countries.

Last week, EU ministers approved measures to prevent tax fraud using cryptocurrencies.

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