Big Four Affiliate, KPMG Canada, Joins List of Companies Holding Bitcoin (BTC)

Bitcoin has been called many things over the years.  This includes being labeled as a hedge asset, a currency, a value transfer medium, and more.  While not everyone agrees on which identity best suits Bitcoin, there is a growing consensus on one thing – Bitcoin has value and utility.  As such, we are seeing an increasing amount of companies, public and private alike, add BTC to treasuries.  The following is a quick rundown of a few public companies which highlight the holdings list, along with one significant newcomer.

KPMG

In the world of accounting and full-service auditing, there are the ‘Big Four’ and everyone else.  Comprised of Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG, and PwC, this group of companies represent the largest of their kind in North America.  With this being the case, it was a significant and promising development to learn that KPMG Canada has officially adopted BTC and ETH as a reserve asset, adding each to the company’s robust treasury.

KPMG Canadian Managing Partner of Advisory Services, Benjie Thomas, commented on the decision to add BTC and ETH to its treasury.

‘Cryptoassets are a maturing asset class.  Investors such as hedge funds and family offices to large insurers and pension funds are increasingly gaining exposure to cryptoassets, and traditional financial services such as banks, financial advisors and brokerages are exploring offering products and services involving cryptoassets. This investment reflects our belief that institutional adoption of cryptoassets and blockchain technology will continue to grow and become a regular part of the asset mix’.

Notably, KPMG did not just make its first purchase of BTC and ETH – the company purchased a proportionate amount of carbon offsets to counteract the environmental impact of its digital asset holdings.

While KPMG did not elaborate on the scale of its purchase, the fact that it occurred is an important step, as it illustrates that interest in the digital asset sector continues to grow.  Past events which saw similar steps taken by publically traded companies were not outliers, but rather precursors to what is coming next – something KPMG realized and capitalized on.

Tesla

For a short while, Elon Musk and his actions were discussed hand-in-hand with digital assets ad nauseam.  This period of time was kick-started when Tesla announced that it had purchased $1.5 billion worth of BTC, becoming the first company of its kind to adopt BTC at such scale.

While Musk has since stepped back from the crypto-spotlight and focused on other impressive endeavours, Tesla continues to hold a significant amount of BTC on its balance sheet.  Beyond its belief in the potential of BTC, Tesla has notably begun accepting Dogecoin (a popular ‘meme-coin’) for certain merchandise.

At time of writing, it is believed that Tesla currently holds 42,902 BTC.

Block

Although its holdings pale in comparison to the others mentioned here today, Block (formerly known as Square) and its CEO Jack Dorsey have arguably done more than any other to help usher forth the maturation of Bitcoin.  Not only has Dorsey leveraged his public presence to do so, he has introduced some form of blockchain integration in each of the companies he has had a hand in.

• Twitter offers BTC ‘Tips’
• CashApp enables Lightning Network
• Block developing BTC mining rigs & hardware wallet

At time of writing, it is believed that Block currently holds 8,027 BTC.

MicroStrategy

When looking at the scale of investment by the companies here today, MicroStrategy is in a class of its own, having recently padded its already hefty bag of BTC with another recent purchase of 600 BTC.

Interestingly, the scale at which MicroStrategy continues to acquire BTC has resulted in its shares becoming somewhat of a proxy for investing in BTC.  With the SEC continuing to deny BTC based spot-ETF applications, investors interested in gaining exposure to BTC are forced to do so in an indirect manner.  This is being achieved through the acquisition of publicly listed shares for companies like MicroStrategy which hold significant amounts of the asset in its treasury.

MicroStrategy has done more for BTC than simply add the asset to its treasury.  Over the past two years, CEO Michael Saylor has become somewhat of an ambassador for Bitcoin, promoting the top digital asset whenever an opportunity arises.  In addition, endeavours such as hope.com look to educate corporations on the opportunity that holding BTC on balance sheets affords.

At time of writing, it is believed that MicroStrategy currently holds 125,051 BTC.

Diverse Interest

The public companies listed above highlight those which currently hold BTC, not only due to the size of holdings, but due to actions taken with the goal of developing the sector.

Through these examples of Bitcoin adoption, we see participation from companies in industries including,

• Automotive
• Financial Services
• Accounting / Auditing
• Business Intelligence & Analytics

With this being the case, it is clear that Bitcoin has matured beyond simply being a niche asset with potential, to one being seen by companies from a wide array of sectors as a key part of the way we will transact value in the years to come.

This leaves us wondering – With KPMG being the most recent to join the fray, will we see another of the Big Four follow suit?