Bovill launches blockchain and cryptocurrency offering
London headquartered consultancy Bovill has announced a new blockchain and cryptocurrency offering, as the firm looks to take advantage of a boom in demand for consultants in the sector. The wing of the international firm will offer advice on Initial Coin Offerings and on how to leverage blockchain technology to secure auditing against money laundering, among other services.
Specialist consultancy Bovill provides regulatory advice to financial services institutions, including banks, insurance companies, regulators, brokers, wealth managers and FinTech. Since the firm’s founding in 1999, the consulting firm has seen steady growth, with its team of consultants now standing at 80, spread across offices in the UK (London and Manchester), Singapore and Hong Kong.
The firm has been working to meet heightened growth ambitions of late, with Bovill recently opening an office in the US. The US consulting market has a value of $55 billion, making it the globe’s largest consultancy market. From its new base in Chicago, the consultancy will service US based clients and global clients doing business in the US.
Now, as the firm looks to further grow its revenues and service lines in 2018, Bovill has launched a blockchain and cryptocurrency offering. Blockchain and cryptocurrencies are areas which consulting firms have experienced greater demand over the past year, as the value of crypto-coins such as Bitcoin and Ethereum have boomed, while companies in all manner of sectors and industries have employed blockchain to ramp up security of everything from accounting to securing supply chains.
The Bovill cryptocurrency/blockchain practice will offer services including analysing global and country specific regulatory frameworks; determining whether a token is a security, or a platform is an exchange; registering Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs); developing regulatory policies and procedures including anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC); among others. In order to do so, Bovill will draw on the skills of its consultants from diverse backgrounds including regulatory specialists, industry roles, ex-regulators, attorneys and others.
“Cryptocurrencies and the technology supporting them are revolutionising global finance,” said Ben Blackett-Ord, Chief Executive at Bovill. “Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are an emerging asset class with real challenges to achieving their full potential. Chief among these is an unclear regulatory environment on a local, national, and international level.
“As with any disruptive technology, cryptocurrency and blockchain present tremendous opportunities while raising legal, regulatory and business challenges. Bovill’s international reach matches that of the cryptocurrency and blockchain market, and we are well-positioned to respond to requests for assistance through our offices in the UK, Hong Kong, Singapore and North America.”
Bovill’s cryptocurrency/blockchain team consists of Colin Darby, Managing Consultant, London; James Falvey, Consultant, Chicago; Gareth Parker, Consultant, London; Tobias Sproehnle, Consultant, London; Katie Pollock, Consultant, Chicago.
