Deloitte integrates blockchain for digital credentials

May 7, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Big Four

The credentials will "have multiple use cases" including regulatory compliance for banking and Decentralized Finance (DeFi), age verification for e-commerce, private logins and fundraising.

Big Four accounting firm Deloitte has integrated blockchain technology to allow customers to store their verification credentials in a single digital wallet, in an effort to streamline the “typically inefficient” verification processes.

In a May 4 statement, Deloitte announced it has integrated KILT blockchain technology – a Polkadot (DOT) parachain – to enable the issuance of reusable digital credentials to its customers. The integration aims to improve the efficiency of Deloitte's Know Your Customer (KYC) and Know Your Business (KYB) verification processes.

It was noted that the standard and "typically inefficient" processes of KYC and KYB certificates being paper-based, as well as identity verification requests requiring multiple data points when only one is needed, often creates "extra work in the process."

Additionally, these traditional verification procedures store data and personal information across multiple platforms and databases, placing consumer data privacy at risk.

Establish a digital identity with Deloitte and keep control of your data, sharing only the data you want to share. We are launching a credential verifier, in partnership with @Kiltprotocol and @Polkadot. Applications opening soon. #KYC #Blockchain #Web3
https://t.co/NDkUf9XMqk
— Deloitte Switzerland (@DeloitteCH) May 4, 2023

The credentials will serve various use cases including regulatory compliance for banking and Decentralized Finance (DeFi), age verification for e-commerce, private logins and fundraising.

While the wallet will be stored on the customers device and remain under their control at all times, Deloitte retains the ability to modify if circumstances change, as noted in the statement:

“Credentials are digitally signed by Deloitte. Deloitte can revoke credentials using blockchain technology if conditions of the customer have changed after the credential was issued.”

It was added that the no prior knowledge of blockchain is required from customers to set it up the credential wallet.

Ingo Rübe, founder of KILT Protocol said that the streamlined identity solutions built on KILT allows customers to use verifiable digital credentials across multiple services, whilst maintaining control “over when and where to share personal information.”

As a Polkadot parachain, it also provides the “scale and security needed by enterprise partners,” he added.

Polkadot tweeted shortly after the announcement on May 4 saying that Deloitte leveraging KILT's solutions to support its KYC and KYB processes is vital for safeguarding itself against illegal activity.

2/ Deloitte will leverage KILT’s reusable digital identity credentials to support its Know Your Customer / Know Your Business processes (KYC/KYB) - vital for protecting financial institutions against fraud, corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing.
— Polkadot (@Polkadot) May 4, 2023

This comes after it was reported on April 26 that there were over 300 crypto-related job opportunities available at Deloitte, at the time of writing, with almost all them being posted in the same week.

Meanwhile, a search for crypto related job openings at the other Big Four accounting Firms – Ernst & Young, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers – showed no results.

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$4K Ethereum by July? ETH price posts fastest recovery to date from 50% drawdown

February 9, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Analysis

ETH price may have bottomed in January following its sharpest rebound to date in a bear market.

The price of Ether (ETH) has pulled back to retest $3,000 support levels on Feb. 9 after Ethereum's native token reached a three-week high.

ETH price climbs to three-week high

To date, ETH price has recovered by roughly 50% after the ETH/USD trading pair bottomed near $2,150 on Jan. 24.

*ETH/USD daily price chart. Source: TradingView*

ETH price jumped on Feb. 7 in part due to KPMG, one of the world's four accounting giants, announcing that the firm is adding Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether to its Canadian division's balance sheet. Bitcoin rallied to over $45,500 in the wake of the news, its best level in almost a month.

However, the Big Four accounting giant chose not to disclose the degree of its exposure in the Bitcoin and Ether markets. But KPMG did state that it is helping its clientele "navigate" the world of crypto assets.

Anthony Pompliano, partner at Pomp Investments, called KPMG's move "incredibly forward-thinking," noting that their involvement would strike confidence in their clients that might have been considering adding crypto assets to their balance sheets. Excerpts from his note published Tuesday:

"Over a long enough timeframe, it feels like corporate demand will continue to explode and these assets will benefit from persistent buys, along with long-term holders, for years and decades to come."

ETH to $4K next?

Ether price recently logged its seventh 50% drawdown in history in what many called a new "crypto winter." But the ETH/USD pair recovered half of its losses by rising from its bottom level of $2,150 to as high as $3,234 in less than three weeks.

*ETH/USD daily price chart with Fibonacci-based support/resistance target levels. Source: TradingView*

This was Ether's fastest recovery to date from a bearish cycle, compared to its average recovery time of 165 days, notes a new report by Arcane Research.

"ETH decreased 94% from its ATH during the 2018 crypto winter, compared to the 50% dip in March 2016, which recovered in just 67 days," Arcane Research wrote, adding:

"Ethereum and the broader crypto ecosystem look very different from 2016-2018. Still, if history is any indication, and leaving out a new glacial period like 2018, we could perhaps see prices back in the $4,000 range as early as July 2022."

*ETH drawdown from ATH. Source: Arcane Research*

Chris Burniske, a partner at Placeholder — a New York-based venture capital firm, also offered a bullish outlook for Ethereum albeit based on its expected transition this year to proof-of-stake from proof-of-work.

"2H 2022 could be great for ETH if the merge happens on schedule and the market structure of the asset goes through a huge shift from PoW to PoS."

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.