Deloitte Expresses Interest In Cryptocurrencies By Joining Australian Industry Group

This week, Deloitte announced plans to join the Australian Digital Currency Commerce Association, an industry group that lobbies for the rights of Australian digital currency traders. Many saw Deloitte's involvement as a big step forward for the digital currency community as the accounting firm is planning to help advocate for regulatory changes in the cryptocurrency space. Better Accounting Deloitte's involvement in the group will center on revising accounting standards that bind bitcoin-based businesses. The firm said that current regulations tax digital currencies as a service, so companies are taxed on the same asset several times. Together with the ADCCA, Deloitte is hoping to drive change and streamline the accounting process for firms dealing in digital currencies. Why Deloitte? Deloitte said it has long had an interest in cryptocurrencies as the field appears to be rapidly growing. While the firm doesn't see digital currency transactions overtaking financial services completely, it believes that cryptocurrencies are likely to grow alongside the traditional finance industry in the years to come. Accounting A First Step Toward Legitimacy Digital currencies have gotten a bad reputation over the past few years after several cases of the cryptocurrencies being used for illegal transactions surfaced. For that reason, many major retailers and banks are wary of engaging with cryptocurrency businesses for fear that they will become tangled up in a money laundering case. However, Deloitte believes that one way to fight back against public perception is to shore up cryptocurrency businesses' balance sheets through precise accounting standards. By developing a set of accounting standards that are fair and easy to follow, the firm believes that cryptocurrency businesses will be able to prove themselves as legitimate.