Summer Myatt
KPMG, one of the “big four” accounting organizations, has made its first direct investment in Bitcoin and Ethereum in a move that adds cryptoassets to the firm’s balance sheet and represents its embrace of the emerging global asset class.
The allocation of cryptoassets to KPMG in Canada’s corporate treasury marks a monumental step in the widespread corporate adoption of crypto and digital currencies as the relatively new economic actors continue to skyrocket in use around the world.
Benjie Thomas, Canadian managing partner of advisory services for KPMG in Canada, said the investment reflects the firm’s belief that the use of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology will continue to exponentially increase on a global scale.
Thomas added that organizations must adopt the maturing asset class in order to remain ahead of the curve.
“The cryptoasset industry continues to grow and mature and it needs to be considered by financial services and institutional investors,” commented Kareem Sadek, advisory partner and cryptoassets and blockchain services co-leader for KPMG in Canada.
Additionally, Sadek mentioned that the firm will continue to enhance its cryptoassets practice in high-growth potential areas such as decentralized finance and non-fungible tokens, among other digital assets.
The firm’s Canadian arm said the investment is also accompanied by carbon offsets to ensure the transaction is aligned with KPMG’s environmental, social and governance commitments to net-zero carbon operations.
KPMG acquired the cryptoassets through execution and custody services provided by Gemini Trust Company. The firm also established a governance committee – comprised of stakeholders from finance, risk management, advisory and audit and tax – to oversee and approve the treasury allocation.
With this announcement, KPMG is added to the growing list of private companies making investments in cryptoassets like Bitcoin.
MicroStrategy, a Tysons, Virginia-based business intelligence and cloud-based services company led by CEO Michael Saylor, is currently the largest publicly-traded corporate owner of Bitcoin with over 122,000 Bitcoin.
Saylor said in an exclusive fireside chat during the Potomac Officers Club’s first Digital Currency and National Security Forum that converting MicroStrategy’s balance sheet to Bitcoin marked a turning point for the company and sparked an era of rapid growth for the organization.
“We went from a labor intensive, cash intensive strategy to a property strategy in order to deal with inflationary pressures,” Saylor explained during the event. The company currently holds over $5 billion worth of assets in the form of Bitcoin.
Hear Michael Saylor’s invaluable insights into how he transitioned his company’s corporate treasury to Bitcoin at PotomacOfficersClub.com, where you can view the full Digital Currency and National Security Forum on-demand now.
