Starting from October 1st, the Luxembourg branch of the ‘Big Four’ accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) will accept bitcoins for services rendered.
PwC announced in a press release that they will begin accepting Bitcoin payments from October and will partner up with a Luxembourg-based cryptocurrency exchange to aid Bitcoin payments. It did not name the exchange or state which coins it will be accepting. PwC Luxembourg also added that they are aware of the existing vulnerabilities of cryptocurrencies and the difficulties associated with its adoption.
The Firm acknowledges the challenges of this move and has carefully reviewed its internal policies and procedures to meet the standards required by the crypto industry and closely collaborated with a local regulated exchange to provide the best payment experience.
Thomas Campione, PWC Luxembourg’s Blockchain & Crypto-assets Leader, added that the exposure would help them understand the uncertainties and opportunities presented by decentralized currencies in a better way. He mentioned:
It is very difficult to properly appreciate the challenges of AML/KYC-enhanced due diligence in a world made of public/private keys, with the complexity and risks of custodial solutions, or to comprehend the decentralized finance ecosystem growing ‘next door’ without being exposed to it in its day-to-day activities.
Advertisement
The firm mentioned that the move was in response to the increasing demand of cryptocurrencies as a mode of payment for services. They declared:
What is certain is that Bitcoin kept its promise as the first peer-to-peer payment mechanism that cannot be compromised and is based on a decentralized trust model.
The tax, audit, and advisory assistance firm has been operating with cryptocurrencies since 2014. It is also one of the biggest recruiters for blockchain-related jobs on recruitment platform. Out of its 250,000 employees worldwide, four hundred of them works on “crypto-topics.” These four hundred employees are assisted by a technical team of 100-members devoted to all-things-blockchain.
Earlier in June, PwC introduced an updated auditing suit for their clients who use cryptocurrencies. Another step, in making use of the trending crypto technology. The auditing solution, dubbed ‘Halo’, offers independent evidence of private-public key pairing and collects data about activities and balances from blockchains. The firm can use this tool to provide services to its clients transacting in Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Gold, Bitcoin Diamond, LiteCoin, Ethereum, ERC20 – OAX token, and Ripple (XRP).
Advertisement
In 2017, the firm’s Hong Kong branch already accepted Bitcoin payments for services related to cryptocurrency auditing, now it’s Luxembourg ‘s turn.
