Despite Musk’s Enthusiasm, Most CFOs Are Skeptical of Bitcoins

Gartner study shows few CFOs are planning to move corporate cash to the cryptocurrency.

Few finance executives are planning to invest in bitcoins as a corporate asset this year, according to a Gartner Inc. survey.

The February survey of 77 finance executives, including 50 CFOs, showed that only 5 percent of respondents plan to hold the world’s largest digital token on their company books this year. In fact, 84 percent of respondents said they do not plan on ever purchasing the coin as an asset.

Volatility was cited as the biggest reason, with 84 percent of respondents saying the digital token’s well-documented price swings would pose a financial risk to their organization. Other concerns included a broader risk aversion, the digital currency’s slow adoption as an accepted form of payment, regulatory concerns, and cyber risks.

“It would be extremely difficult to mitigate the kind of price swings seen in the cryptocurrency in the last five years,” said Alexander Bant, chief of research at the Gartner Finance practice. “There are a lot of unresolved issues when it comes to the use of bitcoin as a corporate asset. It’s unlikely that adoption will increase rapidly until we get more clarity on these challenges.”

The survey comes shortly after Elon Musk, Tesla Inc.’s CEO, announced that he had invested $1.5 billion of the company’s cash in the cryptocurrency. MicroStrategy Inc. has also invested large sums into the token and announced a $600 million convertible bond offering Tuesday with the intent of using the proceeds to acquire additional bitcoins.

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