Elliptic, a UK-based digital currency services company, announces it had received ISAE 3402 accreditation from "Big Four" Dutch firm, KPMG.
The accreditation from KPMG followed a review and audit of Elliptic's financial controls, regulatory compliance, internal access controls and other areas including code deployment, disaster recovery, segregation of duties and storage techniques. It represents an industry's first and signified that Elliptic operates on the same standards as a custodian bank.
The accreditation is a significant step for Elliptic, the company told Reuters. CEO James Smith, said in a statement on Monday:
"KPMG's accreditation is an important milestone. [...] It demonstrates to our customers that we have the rigorous internal processes and controls expected of any traditional financial services provider."
Incorporated in the UK, Elliptic is an enterprise services company focusing on digital currency. Its first service, the Elliptic Vault, is a "deep cold storage," which the company claims to be following a series of "advanced [security] techniques" to ensure the safety of funds.
Last January, Elliptic became the first digital currency company to offer a Bitcoin storage service that is insured against loss and theft. The company is currently underwritten by Lloyd's of London, an insurance market that serves as a partially mutualized marketplace where financial backers come together to pool and spread risk. Co-founder Tom Robinson then told the BBC:
"One of the main concerns people have with Bitcoin is that it's quite difficult to store securely. Offering people an insured storage service seemed an obvious step."
In July 2014, Elliptic received a US$1.8 million in seed-funding from Octopus Investments to further its product development.
Since Elliptic's launch in January 2014, the company has seen law firms and hedge funds adopt its Bitcoin vault, among which JPMorgan trader Dan Masters' Global Advisors Bitcoin Investment Fund, reported CoinDesk.
The Big Four represent the four largest international professional services networks offering audit, assurance, tax, consulting, advisory, actuarial, corporate finance and legal services. It includes UK-based Ernst & Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), American Deloitte, and Dutch KPMG.
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