There is Place For Crypto in Business: Majority of Financial Leaders
Only 13% of financial leaders at more than 2,000 companies in more than 20 of the largest US metropolitan areas think that cryptocurrency will not become common for business transactions in the next five years, a recent survey showed.
Meanwhile, 87% respondents chose answers ranging from “Not very common” to “Very common”, according to the survey developed by Robert Half Finance & Accounting (RHFA), an international specialized financial recruitment service.
Moreover, the survey showed that financial leaders at larger companies are more optimistic towards crypto transactions in business. 45% of the leaders from companies that have 500-999 employees said that business transactions in cryptocurrency will be “very common.”
“Companies waiting to see how they’ll be affected by blockchain and cryptocurrency will find they’re too late,” said Steve Saah, executive director for Robert Half Finance & Accounting. “Organizations must act now to stay ahead of the resulting challenges and opportunities.”
According to him, companies often face difficulties trying to hire for blockchain and cryptocurrency expertise, such as for roles involving payments, security and risk. RHFA suggests to facilitate collaboration, relax the job requirements, and accelerate the hiring process in order to solve this challenge.
“Blockchain expertise is hard to find but can be developed. When hiring for roles requiring this knowledge, consider focusing on candidates who will have a short learning curve and can be trained on it,” RFHA explained.
“How do you think the rise of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology will affect accounting and finance departments?”
Worldwide spending on blockchain solutions could reach USD 11.7 billion in 2022, a recent research from the International Data Corporation showed. Worldwide blockchain spending is expected to be USD 1.5 billion in 2018, double the amount spent in 2017.
However, Gartner Inc., an American research and advisory company, claims that the blockchain technology itself is already past the peak of inflated expectations, and currently at the trough of disillusionment.
Gartner explains blockchain’s current position as follows: “Trough of Disillusionment: Interest wanes as experiments and implementations fail to deliver. Producers of the technology shake out or fail. Investments continue only if the surviving providers improve their products to the satisfaction of early adopters.” The next stages include understanding the benefits of the technology, as well as – in the end – mainstream adoption. According to Gartner, for blockchain, plateau of productivity will be reached in 5-10 years.
