Auditor, Bank and Sports Platform Turn to Bitcoin, Crypto Payments

Tim Alper
Last updated: | 2 min read

Companies are continuing to turn to Bitcoin as a form of payment, with a leading global auditor and an American sports and entertainment platform opening their doors for BTC-holding customers. Moreover, a 176-year-old Norwegian bank has invested in a crypto exchange.

Source: iStock/Avosb

Auditor PwC Luxembourg has announced that it will accept payments in Bitcoin as of October 1, in a move that it claims shows it is “embracing crypto payments.”

PwC says,

“[We] have carefully reviewed [our] internal policies and procedures to meet the standards required by the crypto industry and closely collaborated with a local regulated exchange.”

The company also added that it acknowledges “both the disruptive dimension as well as the current shortcomings of cryptocurrencies.”

And PwC was also keen to point out that the company has more than 400 staff members working worldwide “on blockchain and crypto-topics supported by more than 100 technical team members focusing exclusively on blockchain technology.” PwC added that it employs a team of “more than 20 blockchain developers.” Meanwhile, their competitor, Deloitte has released a blockchain demonstration kit named “Blockchain in a Box” this past August, as reported.

Elsewhere, blockchain-powered major payments provider BitPay has circulated a press release stating that it has struck a deal with the sports-tech entertainment-focused FanDuel Group. The group operates FanDuel, Betfair US, DRAFT and TVG.

The BitPay deal will allow FanDuel daily fantasy sports app users to make BTC deposits on the platform. BitPay says that FanDuel daily fantasy app customers depositing a minimum of USD 10,000 worth of BTC will receive “an additional 10% deposit, up to a USD 2,000 bonus.”

“NFL Football is one of the most popular sporting events to watch and the start of the football season makes it a perfect time to introduce Bitcoin to these fans,” said Sonny Singh, BitPay’s Chief Commercial Officer. “We wanted to have the option in place for Bitcoin users to deposit cryptocurrency into their FanDuel accounts and take advantage of the daily fantasy sports games.”

And elsewhere, a Norwegian savings bank has opened the door for possible crypto-collaboration with a domestic crypto exchange.

Sparebanken Øst says, per a statement, that it has paid some USD 1.65 million for a 16.3% stake in the Norwegian Block Exchange (NBX).

NBX is a forthcoming Norway-based cryptocurrency exchange founded by Bjørn Kjos, an airline tycoon. Kjos made his fortune as the CEO and founder of airline Norwegian Air Shuttle, and last year announced that he had begun work on the NBX platform.

Sparebanken Øst spoke of a “possible collaboration” between NBX and Norwegian Air Shuttle.

The bank stated,

“Sparebanken Øst has decided to take an ownership stake in NBX to obtain new knowledge and solutions as well as learn from and understand disruptive initiatives. This understanding will equip the bank to manage competition and future-oriented solutions for customers.”