The Canadian arm of Big 4 audit giant KPMG has become the latest high-profile company to invest directly in cryptocurrencies. The privately-held firm officially added the top two largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization — bitcoin and ethereum — to its balance sheet.
KPMG Canada Holds Crypto On Balance Sheet
Per a Monday press release, KPMG has added crypto to its treasury via Gemini Trust’s execution and custody services. While the company didn’t disclose the exact amount of BTC and ETH it purchased, it cited its commitment to burgeoning asset classes as the motivation for its treasury allocation.
KPMG’s Managing Partner Benjie Thomas noted that the investment in these two cryptocurrencies reflects the firm’s “belief that institutional adoption of crypto assets and blockchain technology will continue to grow and become a regular part of the asset mix”.
KPMG Canada’s treasury policy is monitored by a governance committee that entails shareholders from various divisions. The company said it conducted a thorough risk assessment and reviewed tax and accounting implications before converting a portion of its idle cash into cryptocurrencies.
Moreover, KPMG has also purchased carbon offsets to attain net-zero carbon transactions.
KPMG Has More Plans Beyond Its BTC, ETH Investment
Besides the bitcoin and ethereum allocation, KPMG Canada is also planning to advance further into the digital asset space.
According to the Advisory Partner and co-leader of Cryptoassets and Blockchain Services, Kareem Sadek, KPMG Canada has set its sights on DeFi, NFTs, and the Metaverse.
“We’ve invested in a strong cryptoassets practice and we will continue to enhance and build on our capabilities across Decentralized Finance (DeFi), Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and the Metaverse, to name a few.”
