Integrating cryptocurrencies into your business — how and why?

In little over a decade, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have become mainstream. News headlines have focused on the spectacular price growth of these assets, yet the more compelling story is the wave of interest from the corporate sector, which is one of the underlying factors influencing the price.

A quick look at Bitcoin Treasuries reveals that more than $50 billion worth of Bitcoin is held on the balance sheets of companies. With news earlier this year that the Hong Kong-listed software and app development company Meitu had added Ether to its balance sheet, along with Ethereum, Noelle Acheson predicts that it will not be long before more and more mainstream companies follow suit.

Elon Musk recently said: “When fiat currency has negative real interest, only a fool wouldn’t look elsewhere”. The number of traditional companies buying cryptocurrency to keep on their balance sheets may currently be a trickle, rather than a flood, but recent surveys of CFO opinions show that nearly a quarter of them are at least considering the idea.

The growth of the crypto sector itself is also set to boost the corporate adoption of digital assets. The successful listing of Coinbase on the New York Stock Exchange will be the first of many. Not only will these innovators seek to hold cryptocurrencies as treasury, but they will also need to issue tokenized stocks, pay some salaries in cryptocurrency — as some employees are starting to demand, and also accept cryptocurrencies or stablecoins as payment methods.

The first-mover advantage

While in some countries, crypto-friendly governments allow settlement of taxes in Bitcoin or Ethereum, a fear of potentially ending up on the wrong side of regulation or compliance requirements is currently holding back many companies from taking the plunge, and thus losing first-mover advantage.

The reality is that with the right tools, it is perfectly possible to incorporate cryptocurrencies into a corporate setting and remain compliant. It is understandable that in many circumstances, the extra work and training involved can be a deterrent: so much so, that even many crypto companies opt to use fiat for their day-to-day operations.

In a competitive marketplace, the ability to hold and transact with crypto-assets will become a more and more important corporate skill set. Those companies that cannot adapt will risk becoming left behind, as well as potentially seeing their liquid assets, such as cash, lose purchasing power.

Having access to software that allows finance teams to issue payments in crypto, view easy-to-understand dashboards and integrate with existing market-leading accounting packages such as Xero and QuickBooks is a must-have, enabling teams to focus on innovation and growth instead of complicated admin.

Essentially, any company dealing with crypto-assets needs as a minimum to be able to do the following:

• Facilitate multi-signature signing of payments
• Consolidate payments and income into categories for tax payments
• Provide a clear overview of income streams, with fiat conversion rates provided at relevant points in the lifecycle
• Integrate with their existing tax reporting and accounting software

Skytale offers full-service B2B cryptocurrency solutions, allowing companies to issue payments and perform accounting tasks seamlessly as part of their normal workflow.

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