Billionaire Carlyle co-founder David Rubenstein says he's invested in crypto companies and doesn't expect Congress to over-regulate the industry

• David Rubenstein is still eyeing the crypto space despite the market rout this year.
• The billionaire investor told CNBC that he's interested in companies working in the space and not just tokens.

Billionaire David Rubenstein says he's personally invested in companies doing work in the cryptocurrency sector and is optimistic that government regulation won't hit the brakes on the industry.

Rubenstein told CNBC's Squawk Box on Thursday that while the market has been "beaten down dramatically," he remains optimistic toward the future of the space as younger generations strive to innovate and foster new ideas.

"Young people tend to have the intelligence and energy to kind of get trends started," Rubenstein said. "It isn't people in their seventies who say 'lets go into personal computers.'"

He remains postive in his outlook on crypto, and said he thinks "some of the blockchain related investments and things associated with crypto are likely to be with us for some time."

Rubenstein also expects Congress to have an even-handed approach when regulating the space, bucking some fears of other observers of the industry that regulators could throttle innovation and shrink the market.

"The crypto constituency is very strong in congress [and] they tend to be very Republican [or] very libertarian," he said. "The industry is not likely to be soft when dealing with members of Congress."

Rubenstein also praised FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried for stepping in to aid the crypto sector and taking steps to inject liquidity into faltering businesses.