The world’s biggest professional services firm, PwC, has decided to take a different approach towards digital currencies. This follows many years of being cautious, but now it is becoming more active because it sees that the U.S. government is providing a better and more practical environment for regulation. The change, as reported by the Financial Times, is attributed to policy changes witnessed during the Trump regime and the increasing call for stablecoin laws.
This move
represents a significant turnaround for PwC. Although it has been offering
advice on blockchain technology to customers for a long time, the company could
not risk getting deeply involved in the crypto business due to the unpredictable
nature of regulation and enforcement actions. However, this calculus appears to
be shifting with indications from Washington about a planned approach towards
digital assets.
What Made
PwC Change Its Stance On Crypto
Insiders
reveal that there is a key moment in American policy on cryptocurrencies that PwC believes it has identified. Rather than using regulation to enforce laws,
politicians and regulators now seek transparent rules, defined supervision, and
market organisation – all of which allow “Big Four” consulting companies like
PricewaterhouseCoopers more comfort in expanding their services related to
cryptocurrencies.
A
significant part of this includes stablecoins. The introduction of proposed
laws targeting stablecoins pegged on the US dollar has gone a long way in
legitimising some forms of crypto that were already heavily intertwined with
payments, banking and the global finance sector. This results in demand from banks,
fintechs, as well as corporations for compliance advisory services offered by
PwC concerning risks and implementation.
Offering Consultation Services On A Large Scale
PwC’s new
approach involves extending its advisory services in areas such as crypto
accounting, custody frameworks for digital assets, reserves management of stablecoins
and compliance readiness with regulations related to these emerging forms of
exchange mediums across all industry sectors, rather than just treating it as an
experimental add-on.
Top
management within the organisation is said to draw comparisons between this
development and previous ones witnessed in fintech as well as cloud adoption
sectors, whereby initial doubt gave way to complete integration upon the establishment of clear guidelines.
Why Politics
And Policy Are Important
Many see the
regulatory position taken by the Trump administration as a driving force behind
this change, especially due to its call for clearer definitions through
legislation rather than depending on ad hoc enforcement measures. Such a move
has clarified some legal uncertainties that used to make multinationals shy
away from expanding their cryptocurrency services.
PwC is not
the only one doing this. As Washington progresses towards setting up formal
market structures and enacting stablecoin regulations, other major accounting
and consultancy firms are taking another look at cryptocurrencies, too.
Implications
Of The Above For The Crypto Sector
The move by
PwC is indicative of something important within the industry. Institutional
adoption may be seen when one of the biggest players in global
professional services takes such steps.
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