Last Updated on January 10, 2023 by Bitfinsider

Digital currencies will be extremely important in the financial markets, according to former Barclays Chief Bob Diamond in an interview. His ambitions to list Circle, a stablecoin, were abandoned as a result of the harsh cryptocurrency market conditions of the previous year.

He also says that a lot of positive things will happen this year, which will help the cryptocurrency industry recover from last year’s collapses. This statement comes after Diamond was unable to list Circle, one of the biggest stablecoin in the market, at a 9 billion USD valuation. Weak investor demand was mentioned as the cause.

Diamond was a reputable conventional investor in the bitcoin market. His private equity company Atlas Merchant invested in Circle in 2021 and later established a special-purpose entity to acquire the company.

A disastrous year for the cryptocurrency industry came to a close with the unfulfilled plan, in which prices crashed and well-known companies like FTX went under, exposing the unpredictability and lax regulation of much of the market.

Bob Diamond, co-founder and CEO of Atlas Merchant Capital, remarked: “I don’t think as an industry we’re going to throw the baby out with the bathwater. In my mind, there is a place for a digital currency, a very important place.”

Using phrases like “crypto winter” is inappropriate

He noted, “Crypto is such a broad word,” lamenting the use of the term crypto winter. “It’s all good, it’s all bad. We have to do a better job. There are undoubtedly sectors that have a very strong future, like the technology being developed for stablecoins.”

Regarding the collapse of FTX and other exchanges in 2022, he said, “The optimist in me hopes this will be a catalyst for more effective and targeted regulation and development of territories… like stablecoins and blockchain technology for onshore and permissive applications.” He added that Circle has long called for such regulation. He thinks that the crashes of 2022 will cause regulators to become more aware.

He continued, noting that since Circle is a U.S.-regulated corporation: “People are starting to understand the difference between US onshore and offshore.”  

When discussing how the current market conditions are unsuitable for prospective listings, he said: “I think there will be a chill for a while, whether it is an IPO or a spac, the process would be very difficult at the moment.”