In brief
- KPMG is a major accounting firm.
- It will integrate Coin Metrics' blockchain products with its existing digital asset product.
- The move should help it stay relevant to institutional clients looking into cryptocurrency.
KPMG, one of the “Big Four” accounting firms along with Deloitte, EY, and PwC, has announced a “strategic alliance” with crypto market data firm Coin Metrics.
The company sees the partnership as a way to “support growth in institutional adoption of cryptoassets and public blockchains.”
The announcement comes at a time when financial institutions' need for accounting and auditing services is growing, as evidenced by PayPal's announcement that it would soon allow users to buy and sell cryptocurrency.
So pumped that @coinmetrics is partnering up with @KPMG. Proud of the team and thrilled to be working with such a great firmhttps://t.co/MmkEeTdAOs
— nic carter 🧊 (@nic__carter) October 27, 2020
The alliance centers around three products: ATLAS and FARUM from Coin Metrics and Chain Fusion from KPMG.
FARUM is a risk management tool for monitoring not only potential attacks on a blockchain network but also fee volatility and unusual events. It pulls data from nodes, mining pools, and other sources.
ATLAS is a blockchain search tool for auditing transactions on popular blockchains. One of its key utilities is determining the value of assets for reporting capital gains or losses on taxes—something KPMG’s global tax accounting team would value.
Both products will integrate with Chain Fusion, KPMG’s digital asset suite for helping fintech firms and financial services companies navigate everything from anti-money laundering regulations to financial risks.
According to Sal Ternullo, the co-lead of KPMG Cryptoasset Services, “The integration of Coin Metrics’ Atlas and Farum products and KPMG Chain Fusion provides a trusted foundation for adoption of digital assets. Farum represents a significant step forward for custodians and exchanges who are exposed to often unmonitored blockchain network risks that may impact their businesses.”
KPMG provides auditing services to major financial institutions, including Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, and Wells Fargo.
Like other members of the Big Four, it jumped into cryptocurrencies fairly early. Sam Wyner, the firm's other co-lead of Cryptoasset Services, told Decrypt last month that the firm was managing client requests to wade through compliance and security issues related to crypto custody.
Its latest move will help it stay competitive with its cohort. Ernst and Young created its own crypto tax service this summer while PwC formed a partnership with ChainSecurity to audit smart contracts. Deloitte, meanwhile, maintains a team of software developers to help clients maintain blockchain products.