A new poll of finance managers by Gartner Finance finds that a majority are not planning to hold bitcoin as a corporate asset. In their responses, most of the 77 finance leaders interviewed cite bitcoin’s volatility as one characteristic of the crypto asset that is “extremely difficult to mitigate.”
The Concerns of Finance Executives
The survey’s findings appear to contradict the growing sentiment that many more listed companies will follow in the footsteps of Telsa, Microstrategy, and Square Inc. In a statement released alongside the survey’s findings, Alexander Bant, chief of research at Gartner Finance reveals that 84% of the respondents believe that “bitcoin’s volatility posed a financial risk.” In addition to the cryptocurrency’s volatility, the executives also name six other areas of concern.
As shown by the survey’s findings, about 39% of the respondents cite their board’s risk aversion as another factor that contributes to the decision not to hold BTC. About 38% cite the slow adoption of the crypto asset as an accepted form of payment or exchange. Regulatory concerns (32%) and lack of expertise in dealing with cryptocurrencies (30%) are the next major reasons cited by the top finance leaders.
Still, the findings suggest that understanding the impact of holding BTC on companies like Telsa and Microstrategy will become a factor for finance managers that may want to follow suit. According to Gartner Finance’s statement:
(About) 71% of respondents said one of the top things they’d like to know is what others are actually doing with bitcoin. (A further) 68% want to hear more from regulators about bitcoin and better understand the risks involved with holding it.
Prospective Buyers Are Not in a Hurry
Meanwhile, the findings also show that 16% of respondents that are willing to adopt cryptocurrency as part of their organization’s financial strategy, appear to be in no rush to do so. Regarding those that have near term plans, the findings show:
Five per cent of respondents indicated they would begin to hold bitcoin in 2021, 1% said they’d hold bitcoin at some point in 2022-2023, and the remaining 9% who indicated they would begin holding bitcoin said it would be 2024 or later.
In the meantime, the survey findings show that “there was no difference in intent to hold bitcoin between small organizations ($1 billion revenue).” Fifty percent of respondents from the technology sector anticipate holding the leading cryptocurrency in the future. Private company finance executives were less favorable towards bitcoin with just 7% saying they would ever hold it.
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