PriceWaterhouseCoopers goes all out on Bitcoin

2016 is rapidly becoming the year during which large institutions are beginning to invest substantially in Blockchain technology, the integral transaction database within Bitcoin that is shared by all nodes participating in a system based on the Bitcoin protocol.

Until two years ago, Bitcoin was the preferred subject of mavericks and anarchists wishing to create their own peer-to-peer system which would remain a ‘community’ rather than a recognized global business, in order to operate their own commercial system which in some respects flew in the face of traditional fiat tender and central banks.

Then came the regulators in some of the world’s top jurisdictions, including Switzerland’s FINMA, and New York State’s financial services regulatory body, who both almost simultaneously granted regulatory licenses for Bitcoin technology and exchange firms, giving rise to a whole new ecosystem which included bona fide exchanges, ATM networks and the legitimization of Bitcoin as a real instrument.

The most interesting aspect of Bitcoin, however, is the underlying technology, particularly Blockchain, which has attracted the attention of large, mainstream venture capital investors to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars in order to spur the development of such technology for other purposes, notably institutional banking.

As 2016 got underway, FinanceFeeds reported that the large banks had begun investing large sums of capital in the development of Blockchain technology for the future automation of specific banking procedures, and now it is the turn of the large management consultancies and professional services firms.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers has now joined the fold, having yesterday announced that has established a new team which is dedicated to exploring Blockchain technology, just shortly after rival McKinsey called for bank collaboration on Blockchain.

The new team consists of 15 technology specialists which have been recruited by PriceWaterhouseCoopers to ‘exploit and commercialize’ blockchain technology.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers senior partner and Fintech expert for the EMEA region Steve Davies considers this technology ideal for governments, banks and institutions which would look toward blockchain technology for their storage and distribution solutions.

Mr. Davies made a commercial statement yesterday on the company’s decision to explore Blockchain at this level.

“There’s clear evidence that banks, institutions and even governments are looking at blockchain technology as a secure storage and distribution solution.”

“Now there is growing interest and a real demand from our clients to help understand the implications of blockchain and how to respond to it. So, as the blockchain juggernaut continues to gather pace, PwC will be well placed to service our clients’ needs at a global level.”

“PwC is now breaking new ground in developing radical FinTech solutions and these appointments represent the first stage of our plans to grow a world-class Fintech offering.”

“We expect the initial core team of 15 experts to grow rapidly, with PwC in Belfast continuing to expand, exploit and deliver technology and digital solutions to global clients.”

 

Image courtesy of Jason Benjamin @PerfectHue, Flickr.