The Canadian operations of “Big Four” auditor Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler, or KPMG, may have a role to play in the entry of institutions into the cryptocurrency space, according to two members of the team.
Speaking to Cointelegraph at the Collision conference in Toronto on Tuesday, Kareem Sadek Y Kunal Bhasin dKPMG Canada’s crypto assets and blockchain services team said the company had added Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) to its balance sheet to show others that it “had skin in the game.” According to Sadek, owning digital assets was just the first step in getting into the cryptocurrency space.
“We think it’s better to walk the road ourselves: show the community that we are part of it, that we support it,” Bhasin said. “We also support the institutionalization of space.”
Sadek added that the firm’s foray into the cryptocurrency space was not a “fluke” based on price declines, but was instead commissioned by a governing council to investigate and move forward. Despite the current bear market, Bhasin said there is room for the space to mature, with many institutions likely to come into the future with greater understanding.
According to the duo, the KPMG crypto assets team had seen “a lot of momentum” around asset tokenization in the real estate market and beyond, but was also considering the potential growth of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the metaverse:
“[El metaverso] is still in its early stages: companies are still exploring. But it’s something they will continue to explore and deepen when the space is ready.”
The KPMG team added that regulators could turn their attention to institutions if adoption grows, providing a framework for companies to carry out “due diligence” on investors. According to Sadek, Canadian regulators have provided a favorable environment for the firm’s exploration into the crypto space, adding that KPMG has launched a survey in 2022 aimed at measuring growth in the space.
In 2021, Canadian authorities launched regulatory action against cryptocurrency exchanges Poloniex and OKex, warning companies not to advertise “gambling-style” promotions. However, the nation was also home to the first Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund, which was launched by Purpose in February.
Bear Market or No Bear Market, Institutions Keep Asking These Questions [sobre las NFT, el metaverso, la Web 3.0 y las criptomonedas]”, Bhasin said. “They keep exploring.”
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