PwC decided to “lean in” to cryptocurrency work after years of taking a more cautious stance, following the Trump administration’s embrace of digital assets, according to the US boss of the Big Four firm. The Genius Act and the regulatory rulemaking around stablecoin I expect will create more conviction around leaning into that product and that asset class, Griggs said. The tokenisation of things will certainly continue to evolve as well. PwC has to be in that ecosystem.
The Genius Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump in July, marked the first time the US has regulated the tokens pegged to assets such as the US dollar, and paves the way for banks to launch their own digital assets. The Securities and Exchange Commission, under Trump appointee Paul Atkins, has also prioritised setting rules for crypto, reversing the antipathy to digital assets that characterised the agency under the Biden administration. “We feel a responsibility to be hyper-engaged on both sides of the business,” Griggs said. “Whether we are doing work in the audit space or doing work in the consulting arena — we do all the above in crypto — we see more and more opportunities coming our way.”
The Big Four firms had, until recently, shied away from auditing many crypto-related ventures in the US and set high hurdles for taking on crypto clients, in part because of US regulators’ sceptical stance. Financial watchdogs around the world have long been concerned by the consumer protection and financial stability risks posed by crypto assets, as well as their use in fraud and money laundering. With the change in US policy, Griggs said PwC had been pitching companies on how they could use crypto technology. The firm has told clients that stablecoins can be used to improve the efficiency of payments systems, for example.
Other Big Four firms are also offering expertise in digital assets. Deloitte, which has audited the publicly traded crypto exchange Coinbase since 2020, published its inaugural “digital assets roadmap” to crypto accounting in May. KPMG declared a “tipping point” for digital assets adoption in 2025 and has been marketing compliance advice and risk management services around crypto. PwC has taken on audit clients in the crypto space, such as the bitcoin miner Mara Holdings, which appointed PwC in March, and is also pitching tax advice related to digital assets.
Griggs was elected US senior partner in 2024 after almost 30 years at PwC, during which he led the audit of Goldman Sachs and managed some of the firm’s career development initiatives. He said PwC had needed to look outside the firm to bolster its crypto expertise. Hires at the partner level included Cheryl Lesnik, who returned to the firm after three years focused on crypto clients at a smaller accounting firm. “We are never going to lean into a business that we haven’t equipped ourselves to deliver,” Griggs said.
PwC’s US leader has indicated the firm will aggressively pursue crypto opportunities across audit and consulting services, driven by the Genius Act and ongoing stablecoin rulemaking. He says PwC must be part of the evolving ecosystem as demand for crypto advisory grows.
The Genius Act, signed by President Trump in July, marks a landmark move in US regulation by covering tokens pegged to fiat and setting the stage for banks to issue digital assets. Regulators, including the SEC under Paul Atkins, are accelerating crypto rules, signaling a shift from prior administration stances and inviting more engagement from professional services firms.
PwC has begun pitching clients on practical crypto applications, including using stablecoins to improve payments efficiency. The firm has also taken on crypto-focused audit work, with Mara Holdings among its clients, while Deloitte and KPMG expand their own digital asset services. Griggs notes that building internal and external resources has been essential to delivering on growing opportunities in the digital assets space.
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