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‘Big 4’ step up the Bitcoin game, EY accepts Bitcoin in Switzerland

Ever since ‘Internet of Things’ has proved itself as a prudent innovation, Big four firms have their eyes set on these innovations. The consultancy divisions of these firms are closely monitoring IOT to evaluate the possible investment opportunities for their clients. This is evident from the PwC report on IOT, released in mid-2015 exploring the unlimited possibilities and open markets for application. After the advent of Bitcoin, Blockchain technology has received no different treatment. The cryptocurrency and its underlying technology have received the same amount of attention owing to its disruptive nature. Pretty recently after Deloitte, EY made a move in Bitcoin. Let’s look into the details of how this would impact Bitcoin:

Deloitte launched ATM in September:

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On Wednesday, September 7th this year, ‘Big Four’ accounting firm Deloitte has opened its first operational bitcoin ATM. The opening was quiet and took place in the downtown Toronto offices of Deloitte’s Rubix blockchain division. The bitcoin transaction machine, or BTM, is now all set to exchange digital currency for Canadian dollars. The move was intends to make Deloitte employees well acquainted with Bitcoin and Blockchain. Owing to the firm’s interest and belief in the cryptocurrency and its underlying technology, Deloitte has taken the first step towards it by this move.

EY joins the band wagon:

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In a surprising move that will completely boost adoption, EY announced that their Swiss firm will soon begin accepting bitcoin. The firm also installed a Bitcoin ATM (BTM) in their main office building, next to the Hardbrücke train station in Zurich. The BTM is publicly accessible to exchange Swiss Francs for Bitcoins. The firm also gave away bitcoin wallets to all of their employees. The effort is in the direction of completely ‘digitizing’ their operations to suit the pace of the changing world.

Marcel Stalder, CEO of EY Switzerland said –

“It is important to us that everybody gets on board and prepares themselves for the revolution set to take place in the business world through blockchains, smart contracts and digital currencies.”

The impact on adoption:

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Switzerland has a very amicable environment for the growth of cryptocurrency. With a well-developed bank and technological infrastructure, going cashless can definitely be the next objective for Swiss folk. KPMG has recently remarked about the same in their report “Shaping Switzerland’s digital future”. For Bitcoin, this would be a very impactful move as this would accelerate mainstream adoption. With auditing firms accepting the currency, the solution to the problem of auditing Bitcoin related transactions would become apparent.