Crypto’s Impact on Business, Data Security Worries Executives

While business executives make preparations for a cashless economy where cryptocurrencies may have a more significant impact, safeguarding customer and client information continues to be a substantial concern.

In the next five years, approximately one-third of executives anticipate the transition to a cashless economy, according to a survey conducted by the consulting firm Protiviti in collaboration with Oxford University.

Approximately 85% anticipate this will be the case in ten years, and 87% expect that assets such as bitcoin, ether, and tether will affect their enterprises.

Responses were collected from 251 board members, C-suite executives, and other business leaders in North America, Europe, and Asia during the survey period of July to September.

The executive vice president of global solutions at Protiviti, Cory Gunderson, stated that the transformation of the international monetary system could result in “significant disruptions to business operations worldwide.”

Concerns were expressed by nearly nine out of ten respondents regarding their capacity to safeguard customer and client information in a future where digital currencies predominate.

To increase user confidence, more must be done to prevent fraud and enhance security, according to Mike Brauneis, managing director of Protiviti.

“Regular banking and credit card transactions benefit from decades of development in regulatory frameworks and insurance schemes that limit consumers’ culpability for illicit transactions,” he said. “Contrast crypto transfers with these transactions.”

KPMG predicts that regulatory agencies will attempt to erect additional safeguards in the payments and cryptocurrency sectors, particularly emphasizing stablecoins and central bank digital currencies.

Brauneis further posits that the adoption of specific crypto assets designed as dependable repositories of value has been impeded by price volatility.

YTD, the values of Ethereum and Bitcoin have increased by 110% and 58%, respectively, but remain significantly below their respective all-time highs, which were attained in November 2021.

A Pantera Capital executive argued in a letter last week that stablecoins are positioned to provide advantages that Bitcoin and Ethereum do not always offer.

These advantages include the ability to conduct peer-to-peer transactions, protection against unstable currencies, and the avoidance of service provider trust.

Tether (USDT) is a stablecoin with an approximate market capitalization of $85 billion, ranking it second only to Bitcoin and Ethereum.