Business shovels at the ready: preparing to capitalise on crypto’s gold rush
by Alan Hartwell, Chief Technology Officer at IRIS Software Group
If you only read the news, you would think everyone and their dog is trading in crypto. Yet the crypto world still remains separate to the formal economy. However, recent significant strides, such as Revolut winning full crypto services authorisation in the UK and the Treasury Committee launching an inquiry into crypto-assets, could change everything.
Sooner than later, the majority of organisations will have to face the reality of crypto’s growing role in payments and business. Those who don’t, risk falling behind their competition. Now is the time to ask the tough questions, starting with, “are we ready to handle crypto?”.
Questions for the inevitable
Those who trade in crypto are more than just strangers on the street, they’re the customers of accountants and on a business’ payroll. They may have digital assets in need of valuation or they might decide they want to be paid in cryptocurrency. And this is the tip of the iceberg. Is your business able to handle these kinds of requests? Those who want to keep their customers will soon have to handle sterling, traditional fiat transactions, as well as crypto ones.
As crypto becomes more mainstream, accounting for it will become inevitable, if not essential. Assets bought with crypto, such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), need to be valued. But if an accountant was asked to untangle a customer’s transactions on a blockchain, would they know how to even start? Do they know how to query a bitcoin ledger?
Getting the digital ducks in a row
To prepare, businesses need to focus on acquiring technology (tools) and expertise. If most businesses or individuals want advice on crypto now, they have to go to people they don’t know, on a subject they don’t understand. With hundreds of cryptocurrencies out there, it is those trusted financial advisors and experts who can give reliable professional advice and direction to customers who will get ahead of the game. Businesses should ask themselves if their customers are not coming to them with their crypto queries, where are they going? Most likely they’re going to a competitor.
Crypto has so far run parallel to mainstream currency but, at some point, it will jump the barrier. The crypto bubble will burst, leaving the strongest standing and laying the foundations for the digital future. This is when the mainstream market will need to engage and the businesses most likely to succeed and survive are the ones ready, waiting and prepared for this moment. Much like the goldrush in the 1800s, while we all assume the few big winners were those who struck gold, the real winners were those producing and selling the shovels and pans.
Crypto could be the next gold rush and businesses need to get into the mindset of the shovel makers of old to succeed. If they don’t prepare to get on board the crypto bandwagon in time, they face potentially losing out on opportunity and more importantly big business.
As crypto trading becomes more popular, it will come knocking on businesses’ doors. Those who have the right expertise and technology to answer the call will gain competitive advantage. While those who don’t face the risk of missing out on opportunities and fall behind in the market. There is still time to prepare while crypto’s move towards mainstream business and the real economy is still fledgling. If businesses want to succeed, they need to ask themselves the questions that matter and act quickly on the answers.