Cybersecurity firm supports Bitcoin ‘mission,’ converts balance sheet to BTC

Published at: June 7, 2022

Another business jumps aboard the Bitcoin bandwagon. Octagon Networks, a global cybersecurity network company with over 20 employees announced on Monday that it had “finished the process of converting its liquid assets and entire balance sheet into Bitcoin (BTC).”

The group will also “start accepting Bitcoin payments for all of our services, with a 50% discount when paid in Bitcoin.”

Today, Octagon Networks becomes the first cybersecurity company to convert it's entire balance sheet into #Bitcoin. We will also start accepting payments in Bitcoin, and offering a discount to encourage the use of Bitcoin. Read More: https://t.co/32mcdlUEGu

— Octagon Networks (@OctagonNetworks) June 5, 2022

Cointelegraph spoke to the Ethiopian cofounders of Octagon Networks, who preferred to remain anonymous. They explained that adopting Bitcoin was driven by a belief in Bitcoin and volition to support the network:

“We are large proponents and believers in Bitcoin. We believe in a truly decentralized form of money that can be transferred at the speed of light.”

They added that the “$25,000 area” could be the bottom of the bear market, while qualifying that the Bitcoin they have accumulated “doesn't affect our operating costs as everyone who works here is a sole believer in the mission of Bitcoin.”

The team stressed that — contrary to a commonly held belief that adopting Bitcoin is an attack on fiat currency — the group is proud of its Ethiopian roots and continues to use local currencies as well as Bitcoin:

“People are interpreting this as an attack on USD or ETB [Ethiopian birr]. It is neither. We use both daily for our day-to-day lives, our decision about Bitcoin is simply because we believe in the secure distributed network Bitcoin has created.”

Nonetheless, while the volatility of Bitcoin is too much for those in the western world to stomach, Octagon Networks explained that some of its employees choose Bitcoin as their preferred currency. Across Africa, several currencies — especially the CFA franc, a currency in use across 14 African nations — have lost purchasing power while leaving governments powerless.

Moreover, Octagon Networks told Cointelegraph that within the cybersecurity industry, Bitcoin is well-respected. Over the past decade, Bitcoin has not been hacked, while the hash rate (effectively a network security metric) continues to reach new highs:

“From a cyber security perspective, it makes sense to bet on Bitcoin than anything else.”

Popular Bitcoin maximalists such as Cory Klippsten, founder of Swan Bitcoin, were quick to celebrate another company upgrading its business practices to a Bitcoin standard.

Let's go Octagon Networks! https://t.co/gjT5wggQBw

— Cory Klippsten (@coryklippsten) June 5, 2022

The term “Bitcoin standard” refers to an individual, business or company adopting Bitcoin in a way that puts Bitcoin first. El Salvador, for example, was the first country to adopt a Bitcoin standard.