Crypto Winter Promotes Consolidation as Bitwave Acquires Gilded
In the midst of the ongoing crypto winter, crypto firms continue to consolidate. The most recent deal in the industry involves the acquisition of payments and accounting platform Gilded by Bitwave, one of its competitors.
Bitwave’s acquisition of Gilded is expected to enhance its enterprise solutions, including crypto payments, invoicing features, tax tracking, and bookkeeping tools. The integration will also bring Ken Gaulter, the Chief Technology Officer of Gilded, to join Bitwave’s engineering team. This acquisition follows Bitwave’s previous acquisition of Multisig Media a few months ago.
“We see digital asset payments as faster and cheaper than traditional payment rails — and in this hyper-connected economy, we expect that to be a game changer for businesses,” said Pat White, Bitwave co-founder, and CEO. The companies have not disclosed the acquisition price.
Gilded, founded in 2018 by a group of developers and accountants, focuses on integrating crypto solutions into financial reporting and accounting processes for companies. According to Gilded Crunchbase’s profile, it has more than 130 enterprise customers, including crypto startups, nonfungible token (NFT) marketplaces, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), miners, and accounting firms. Gilded’s existing clients will continue to use its products while also gaining access to Bitwave’s platform.
Similar to Gilded, Bitwave was founded in 2018 and provides crypto accounting and compliance services. In December 2022, the company closed a $15 million Series A funding round led by Hack VC and Blockchain Capital to expand its crypto solutions to meet complex accounting requirements for enterprises. Additionally, Bitwave recently announced a partnership with Deloitte, one of the big four accounting firms, to offer enterprise tools that connect blockchain data to ERP systems. This alliance aims to assist organizations in managing the complexities of digital assets.
“We believe that crypto payments are the future. With instant settlement and incredibly low fees, financial institutions are starting to recognize the massive opportunity afforded by this technology,” added White.
The acquisition of Gilded by Bitwave comes at a time when U.S. regulators have introduced new rules for digital asset accounting. On September 6, the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) approved guidelines on how companies can report the fair value of their cryptocurrencies on balance sheets.
“We’ve actually received a surprising amount of clarity on both the tax and accounting side of digital assets,” commented White on the recent developments. He also mentioned that the IRS has provided a clearer understanding of how staking rewards will be taxed and who qualifies as a “broker” responsible for sending new 1099-DA forms to customers. These transparent rules are expected to lead to closer monitoring of digital asset transactions by regulators.
In conclusion, Bitwave’s acquisition of Gilded strengthens its position in the crypto industry by expanding its enterprise solutions and customer base. As the industry faces increased regulatory scrutiny, companies like Bitwave and Gilded are working to provide accounting and compliance services that meet the evolving needs of businesses operating in the crypto space.
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About the author - J-S Tremblay
I've been involved in the cryptocurrency world since 2016 and trading since 2019. I started Moon and Lambo in 2021. I'm passionate about crypto and love to share my knowledge. I hate bankers and I hope that cryptocurrency will change the financial world for the better. View full profile...
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