Big 4 Accounting Firm PwC Steps Up Its Crypto Efforts Amid Clearer U.S. Regulation ⋆ ZyCrypto

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), one of the Big Four accounting firms, is moving to deepen its engagement with cryptocurrency customers after years of adopting a non-committal posture toward the nascent sector.

U.S. Regulatory Clarity Alters PwC’s Stance

The Financial Times reported that PwC U.S. Senior Partner and CEO Paul Griggs revealed that the company has decided to “lean in” to crypto-related work, citing stablecoin legislation and the broader pro-crypto shift among U.S. regulators. Griggs highlighted the passage of the GENIUS Act, describing it as a key catalyst for the company’s next expansion phase.

“The Genius Act and the regulatory rulemaking around stablecoin I expect will create more conviction around leaning into that product and that asset class,” Griggs told FT. “The tokenization of things will certainly continue to evolve as well. PwC has to be in that ecosystem.”

Before Trump’s return to the White House and the subsequent pro-crypto shift, the crypto industry faced heavy scrutiny from U.S. authorities, marked by high-profile enforcement actions against prominent crypto firms. This forced the Big Four firm to stay on the sidelines for years, the Financial Times noted.

Now, PwC is planning to be “hyper engaged” in expanding both its audit and consulting lines to work with crypto-related clients, the report said. The company has been pitching customers on how to use crypto, including stablecoins, to boost payment system efficiency.

PwC has also steadily strengthened its internal crypto expertise. The company recently rehired Cheryl Lesnik, who has been responsible for managing digital asset customers over the last three years, as a partner. Griggs said PwC has “bolstered our resource pool inside and outside” to properly foray into the digital assets market. 

“We are never going to lean into a business that we haven’t equipped ourselves to deliver,” he postulated “Over the last 10 to 12 months, as we’ve taken on more opportunities in that digital assets arena, we’ve bolstered our resource pool inside and outside.”

PwC’s pro-crypto shift comes as an increasing number of companies, even those that were previously skeptical of crypto, have entered the arena in recent years. Meanwhile, other members of the Big Four, Deloitte, KPMG, and Ernst & Young, have also introduced crypto-related offerings.