Crypto custody market reached $448 billion in 2022: Report
Researchers cite a rise of interest in crypto staking and nonfungible tokens as the major developments for the custody market.
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Značka: Pwc
PwC Venezuela Twitter account hacked, attacker shills fake XRP giveaway
An attacker gained access to PwC Venezuela’s Twitter account and has been actively posting cryptocurrency phishing links for the last 8 hours at the time of the writing. Considering that all the tweets posted by the hacker remain active, it is evident that PwC officials are yet to realize the compromise.Investors clicking on the links remain at risk of being defrauded by the hacker. If not mitigated promptly, the threat may be catastrophic, considering that PwC Veleneula’s Twitter currently boasts over 37,000 followers.Cointelegraph has reached out to PwC Venezuela to inform them about the hack. PwC Venezuela has not yet responded to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.Related: Elon Musk-crypto video played on S. Korean govt’s hacked YouTube channelBlueBenx, a Brazilian crypto lending platform, recently blocked 22,000 users from withdrawing funds following an alleged hack that drained $32 million (or 160 million Brazilian real). Regarding the hack, an unnamed investor told Portal do Bitcoin:“I think there’s a high probability of it being a scam because this whole hacker attack story seems like a lot of bullshit, something they invented.”The statement reflects a general lack of trust among investors in centralized crypto exchanges.The official Twitter account of Big four accounting firm PwC, Venezuela, was compromised and has been used by the hacker to share links to fraudulent XRP token giveaways.
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Despite bearish trend, hedge funds are dipping their toes in crypto: PwC
Traditional hedge funds are slowly embracing cryptocurrency investments but are keeping their exposure limited as the market continues to mature, according to new research from PricewaterhouseCoopers, or PwC.In its 4th Annual Global Crypto Hedge Fund Report 2022, PwC said roughly one-third of traditional hedge funds surveyed are already investing in digital assets such as Bitcoin (BTC). So-called “multi-strategy” hedge funds were most likely to invest, followed by macro strategy and equity strategy firms, respectively. Of the hedge funds currently invested in the crypto space, 57% have allocated less than 1% of their total assets under management. Two-thirds of the firms currently invested plan to increase their exposure by the end of 2022. Respondents cited “regulatory and tax uncertainty” as the single greatest barrier to investing. Specifically, hedge funds are concerned about a fragmented regulatory environment globally as well as unclear guidance on how the asset class will be governed. A total of 89 hedge funds were included in the survey, which was conducted during the first quarter of 2022. A majority of the hedge funds surveyed by PwC have more than $1 billion in assets under management. Source: PwCHedge funds and other traditional asset managers have been eyeing developments in the crypto sector to gauge whether they should begin investing in the space. While several hedge funds have launched crypto divisions and started investing in the space, the majority of firms remain on the sidelines. Interestingly, a 2021 survey of 100 global hedge funds revealed that managers expect to allocate an average of 10.6% to crypto within five years. Related: What is driving institutions to invest in crypto? BlockFi’s David Olsson explainsAlthough crypto assets have been in a protracted bear market for much of 2022, institutional investors appear to be buying the most recent price dip. Inflows into Bitcoin investment products, such as exchange-traded funds and Grayscale’s GBTC product, increased by $126 million last week, according to CoinShares. Bitcoin investment funds have quietly added over $500 million in net inflows this year.
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More than three-quarters of central banks considering a CBDC: research
More than 80% of central banks are interested in launching a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) or have already done so according to research conducted by accounting firm PwC.The second annual Global CBDC Index report released on Monday, April 4, measures a central bank’s level of maturity in deploying its own digital currency. The report also included an overview of stablecoins for the first time.Haydn Jones, Blockchain and Crypto Specialist at PwC U.K. stated in the report that “over 80% of central banks are considering launching a CBDC or have already done so.”The report ranks both retail CBDCs, ones that are issued for use by the general public, and wholesale CBDCs for use by financial institutions holding with the central bank, out of 100. Retail CBDCs have reached a greater level of maturity in comparison to their wholesale counterparts, according to the report. Nigeria’s “eNaira”, for example, received a score of 95, marking it as the most developed across both the retail and wholesale categories.Also of note in the retail category was the Bahamas, the first country to ever launch a CBDC — the Sand Dollar. The Jamaican Jam-Dex is slated for launch this year, and Thailand made the list for its development and testing of a CBDC announced last August.Thailand and Hong Kong topped the wholesale category for their joint mBridge project focused on cross-border payments, Singapore and France also ranked highly for their continued exploration of CBDC projects.Related: DeFi, Web3, CBDC still unknown for most: SurveyJones also commented on the level of maturity and preparedness that central banks around the world are currently at. He said:“Countries are at differing levels of maturity with CBDCs and each country has different motivating factors. Increasing financial inclusion, facilitating cross border payments and controlling financial crime are all factors that come into play. We expect CBDC research, testing and implementation will intensify in 2022.”The report provided an overview of the top ten USD-pegged stablecoins by market cap, and discussed how they function and what they’re backed by.It noted that stablecoins have become an “integral part of the crypto ecosystem” and it is “impossible” for any fund or institution “to be active in crypto without using stablecoins.”
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61% of Luxembourg financial players to embark on crypto journey in 2022: PwC
In a bullish report released by professional services firm PwC Luxembourg, 61% of 123 Luxembourg-based financial players are “embarking or planning to embark on a crypto journey.”The report comes hot on the heels of competitor professional services firm KPMG Canada’s decision to add Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) to its treasury. It appears the Big Four is warming up to crypto.Thomas Campione, blockchain & crypto-assets Leader for PwC Luxembourg, told Cointelegraph that “For many years, traditional players have been looking at crypto-assets with skepticism.” He added that a possible combination of “branding issues” and a lack of understanding may have stymied growth in the space in the past.However, the negative sentiment may be on the turn. Campione told Cointelegraph:“It is becoming clear however that 2022 shall be a pivotal year when it comes to crypto-assets management.”The report shares that the “rate at which the global crypto-assets industry is undeniable,” and attempts to use Luxembourg as a “lens” through which one can gain a better understanding of the nascent asset class. The only Grand Duchy in the world, Luxembourg is a tiny European country that punches well above its weight in the financial services and blockchain industries. In 2021, the PM declared his desire for Luxembourg to be the ‘digital frontrunner’ in blockchain.OG’s in the cryptocurrency space will remember that PwC Hong Kong began accepting payments in BTC in 2017. Campione told Cointelegraph that PwC Luxembourg began the same process in 2019.Related: Bitcoin price circles $44K as analyst asks, ‘Who remains to sell here?’While the report cites energy consumption, anti-money laundering concerns and “regulatory fragmentation” as challenges facing the cryptocurrency industry; critically, one-fifth of the businesses surveyed in the report already view “crypto-assets as a strategic priority.”Campione concluded:“Taken into consideration that Luxembourg is the second investment funds hub in the world, these results clearly set the tone on what to expect in the market in the very near future.”
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PwC Hong Kong purchases land plot in The Sandbox
PwC Hong Kong, an international subsidiary of the global PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) organization, announced Thursday its emergence in the metaverse space with the acquisition of LAND in the popular world The Sandbox.Though the cost of its LAND asset was undisclosed, it was noted that PwC Hong Kong intends to construct a Web 3.0 advisory hub to facilitate a new generation of professional services, including accounting and taxation.The global organization PwC, headquartered in London, United Kingdom, documented revenues of $45 billion from June 2020 to June 2021, up 2% from the previous year.William Gee, a partner at PwC Hong Kong, stated that the organization will seek to “leverage our expertise to advise clients” on the metaverse, calling the burgeoning technology a “digital phenomenon.”Related: Virtual land in the metaverse dominated NFT sales over past weekIn July this year, PwC crypto leader Henri Arslanian stated that venture capital funds and similar conglomerates with large financial resources are curtailing opportunities for smaller, often family-run firms to invest and participate in the growth of promising crypto startups. Recently, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey expressed similar concerns about the power of venture capital firms in preventing Web 3.0 developers from achieving their decentralized vision. Chief operating officer of The Sandbox Sebastien Borget shared his enthusiasm for the introduction of PwC Hong Kong to the platform:”The metaverse is open for business. We welcome PwC Hong Kong to experience how The Sandbox fosters new immersive experiences and ways for brands to connect with customers.”According to data from DappRadar, The Sandbox has registered 4,450 unique users over the last 30 days, while the platform’s native token, SAND, is priced at $5.84, having retraced almost 30% from all-time highs last month.
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