United States-based cryptocurrency index fund provider Bitwise declared that Facebook’s Libra stablecoin accelerated Bitcoin’s (BTC) progress by three years in a letter to investors published on its website on August 1.

Libra attracted attention to Bitcoin

In the letter, Bitwise’s global head of research Matt Hougan said on behalf of the company:

“Thanks to Facebook’s Libra and Congress, we have just fast-forwarded two or three years into crypto’s future, accelerating all the conversations, debates, and mainstream discussions into the present day.”

Increasing regulatory scrutiny

The firm claims that, as a consequence of Libra’s development and the crypto hearings with the Congress, “people realize they can no longer ignore cryptocurrency.” Still, Bitwise admits that not all of the attention devoted to crypto may be positive and that regulators’ focus on crypto may have negative ramifications in the future.

The firm also noted that it expects the government to up regulation on the shadier parts of the cryptocurrency industry, such as initial coin offerings and unregulated exchanges, now that it is devoting attention to crypto. Bitwise concludes:

“But even this scrutiny and attention will be good for crypto long term. It will give investors the assurance that regulators are involved and will clarify the guidelines under which the mature version of crypto can develop.”

As Cointelegraph reported at the end of last month, Facebook warned its investors that its Libra stablecoin may never be released.