Financial regulators and policymakers in the U.S. and elsewhere are finally waking up to the threat cryptocurrencies pose to the established global financial order, according to Cardano co-founder and acting CEO, Charles Hoskinson.

Hoskinson made this remark during his recent interview with Financial Fox, where he also hinted that the ramifications of Facebook’s entry into the cryptocurrency space could be far more impactful than it appears on a surface level.

Libra is the Wake-Up Call

Everyone knows the adage, “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” Well, the Cardano chief believes that’s exactly how things are unfolding for the cryptocurrency community right now.

His assessment makes sense considering that skeptics, including many within the regulatory apparatus, ignored the asset class for years since its inception, only to ridicule it as a ‘scam’ or a ‘bubble’ later when the popularity of Bitcoin started soaring wildly in the second half of 2017.

Hoskinson added that regulators are now starting to grasp the fact that the decentralized digital economy is not something one could just wish away. It is here to stay and growing stronger every day.

When asked how Facebook’s Libra fits into the scene, the Cardano CEO said that it might have been the “Sputnik moment” for regulatory bodies, referring to the world’s first artificial satellite launched by the Soviet Union in 1957.

“Sputnik was a wake-up call for America. We [Americans] had this vision that we were [technologically] always super ahead of the Soviets,” Hoskinson said. It just further shows how that single head-start by the Russians brought US policymakers on their toes and compelled them to pursue America’s space program more proactively.

He continued on that notion, stating, “Libra is doing the same thing. It’s a global awakening and it’s telling global politicians that this [existing] financial order they’re used to is ending.”

Incentives Drive Mass Adoption

Cautioning that there are influential individuals who would fight hard to keep the decentralized digital economy from taking over the existing financial order, Hoskinson said he is optimistic those siding with the decentralized digital economy will eventually triumph. When that happens, he added, it could turn out to be a win-win situation for all with a “global system that is truly fair to everyone” at the helm of the new financial order.

On the question of the obstacles that could stand in the way of mass adoption of cryptocurrencies, Hoskinson said that people are, and will continue to be, increasingly drawn to the asset class so long as there are incentives in doing so.

For many, those incentives come in the form of the financial autonomy that digital currencies promise. Hoskinson noted that if these incentives are strong enough, even adverse legal and regulatory frameworks won’t be able to stop the mass adoption that’s already in progress.

Do you agree with Hoskinson’s optimistic outlook about the inevitable rise of cryptocurrencies over the existing financial order? Share your thoughts in the comments below.