Accounting questions put pressure on crypto investments.
Cryptocurrency-related assets are ending the week on a down note with accounting issues seemingly weighing on the market.
Bitcoin BTC is down 2% to $16,825 for the week as of Friday afternoon, with a 3% drop in the past 24 hours, while ether has slid to $1,198, off 6% on Friday and 5% for the week, according to data from Nomics. The global cryptocurrency market has fallen to $817.4 billion from $854.4 billion, a CoinMarketCap tally shows, down 4% for the week.
Multiple reports that Mazars, the global accounting firm based near Paris, has suspended proof-of-reserves reporting for crypto clients, followed a Thursday Forbes article that rival Armanino was likely ending its digital-audits practice. Revelations of sloppy bookkeeping at the failed FTX exchange have amplified questions about how carefully crypto companies account for their transactions and what level of oversight can be expected from auditors.
Binance coin (BNB BNB ) slid 7% on Friday to $242, bringing its decline for the week to 16%. Mazars had been performing proof-of-work audits for the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume.
The crypto auditing business may not be worthwhile for accountants. A source told Forbes that pressure from clients in other businesses to drop crypto may be behind the expected withdrawal of Armanino, and the same effect could apply to other auditors.
In the stock market, publicly traded crypto exchange Coinbase fell 5% to $35.97, an 11% weekly drop. Silvergate Capital SI , a commercial bank that serves the digital assets industry, lost 3% to $18.29; that marks a 15% tumble since Dec. 9.
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