Major accounting firm buys crypto for investment

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - British-Dutch multinational accounting, auditing and tax services provider KPMG International's Canadian office said Monday it bought cryptocurrencies as investment.

"We have just completed an allocation of cryptoassets to our corporate treasury, our firm’s first of its kind investment in the asset class," KPMG Canada wrote on Twitter.

"This includes Bitcoin and Ethereum tokens, and carbon offsets to maintain a net-zero carbon transaction," it added.

Despite falling below $30,000 on July 20, the price of Bitcoin climbed to an all-time high level of $69,000 on Nov. 10. After the sharp decline since then, Bitcoin recovered in recent days and climbed above $44,000 earlier Monday.

Ethereum, the world's most valuable altcoin, plummeted to $1,844 in July, but it bounced back to $3,179 at 1.11 p.m. EDT.

"Cryptoassets are a maturing asset class," KPMG Canadian Managing Partner Benjie Thomas said in a statement.

"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," he added.

KPMG Canada Cryptoassets and Blockchain Services co-leader Kareem Sadek said the industry continues to grow and mature, and it needs to be considered by financial services and institutional investors.

"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. We expect to see a lot of growth in these areas in the years to come," he added.