“There are a lot of unresolved issues when it comes to the use of bitcoin as a corporate asset,” said Mr. Bant. “It’s unlikely that adoption will increase rapidly until we get more clarity on these challenges.”
Seventy-one percent of respondents said one of the top things they’d like to know is what others are actually doing with bitcoin. Sixty-eight percent want to hear more from regulators about bitcoin and better understand the risks involved with holding it.
“It’s important to remember this is a nascent phenomenon in the long timeline of corporate assets,” said Mr. Bant. “Finance leaders who are tasked with ensuring financial stability are not prone to making speculative leaps into unknown territory.”
Even the 16% of respondents willing to adopt the cryptocurrency as part of their organization’s financial strategy appeared in no rush. Five percent 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.
There was no difference in intent to hold bitcoin between small organizations (<$1Bn revenue) and large organizations (>$1Bn revenue). Fifty percent of respondents from the technology sector anticipate holding the cryptocurrency in the future. Private company finance executives were less favorable towards bitcoin with just 7% saying they would ever hold it.
Gartner clients can hear more details by registering for the following webinar: Panel Discussion: The Top 10 Finance Benchmark Metrics for 2021
Non clients can learn more about the digital future of finance here: Digital Future of Finance.
CFOs and finance leaders can participate in Gartner research and get complementary access by joining the Gartner Research Circle.
About the Gartner Finance Practice
The Gartner Finance practice helps senior finance executives meet their top priorities. Gartner offers a unique breadth and depth of content to support clients’ individual success and deliver on key initiatives that cut across finance functions to drive business impact. Learn more at https://www.gartner.com/en/finance/finance-leaders. Follow Gartner for Finance on LinkedIn and Twitter using #GartnerFinance to stay ahead of the latest expert insights and key trends shaping the Finance function.