Cryptocurrencies burst onto center stage in 2017, delivering what might very well be historic gains. For the year, the aggregate value of all digital currencies soared from a starting value of $17.7 billion to an ending value of roughly $613 billion. That works out to an increase of more than 3,300%! By comparison, the stock market has historically gained 7% a year, inclusive of dividend reinvestment and when adjusted for inflation. It would take traditional equities decades to deliver similar returns.

But that’s not to say that the cryptocurrency ride hasn’t been without its bumps in the road. Earlier this year, virtual currency investors got their first taste of a major correction in years. After briefly hitting an all-time market cap high of $835 billion on Jan. 7, 2018, the combined market value of cryptocurrencies slid by 70% over the next three months. Even though they’ve nearly doubled off their recent lows, virtual currencies’ combined market cap is down by 23% year to date (through May 5, 2018).

Bitcoin storage provider Xapo now holds about 7% of the world’s total Bitcoin supply in its vaults, “roughly” amounting to $10 bln, Bloomberg reports May 9 quoting unnamed sources.

According to two clients, the wallet and cold storage provider currently looks after an estimated $10 bln in the cryptocurrency.

A further source “close to” the vaults, which now encompass five continents, called the figure an “accurate approximation.”

Xapo has only been on the market since 2014, making headlines when it converted a Swissbunker to a Bitcoin storage facility late last year. Prior to that, the startup had struggled to achieve validity during a move to the country from the US which proved troublesome with regulators

The Financial Executives Research Foundation (FERF) has released a report prepared in partnership with one of the ‘Big Four’ accounting and consulting firms Deloitte, on how blockchain technology is being employed in financial applications, Accounting Today reportedMay 9.

The report entitled “Blockchain for Financial Leaders: Opportunity vs. Reality” analyzes how blockchain could affect financial reporting, staffing, and other areas essential to executives. Researchers surveyed a group of financial executives, 30 percent of whom said they “plan to commit resources to blockchain within the next year and a half, though they don’t know yet what potential the technology holds.”