Bitwave Crypto Software Review 2024: Pros & Cons

Bitwave Overview

What Is Bitwave? 

As the self-proclaimed “#1 enterprise digital asset account platform,” Bitwave boasts an impressive range of accounting and crypto tax features for large crypto businesses and blockchain-native enterprises. 

The platform stands out from the competition with its breadth of native integrations which include blockchains, DeFi protocols, centralized exchanges, ERP platforms, and even NFT marketplaces. Crypto accounting is complex, and Bitwave’s native integrations help make the process significantly easier by automatically tracking cost basis, impairment, and even staking rewards for a variety of digital assets. 

Bitwave puts a special emphasis on customizability. Thanks to the platform’s vast suite of integrations and an advanced API, users can do things like create reports based on custom rules, define cost basis methodologies on a per-asset level, and much more. Bitwave also encourages users to get in touch with their specific needs as the platform routinely custom-tailors integrations for individual clients. 

Bitwave Key Features 

Bitwave provides practical crypto accounting tools, from fair value calculations to ERP syncs. They simplify crypto tax with adjustable reports and various tax strategies. The platform also has support for DeFi & NFT accounting as well as a powerful set of customizable integrations. 

• Crypto Accounting & Bookkeeping: Bitwave offers robust accounting and bookkeeping tools, including fair value accounting and complex wallet assignments, with the ability to choose between GAAP or IFRS reporting. The platform categorizes and syncs transaction data to major ERP platforms, offering a wide range of crypto integrations and a powerful rules engine.

• Crypto Tax Tracking: The platform simplifies complex crypto tax scenarios by offering customizable reporting and a range of tax strategies. Bitwave helps ensure accurate tracking even in non-traditional scenarios, such as ICOs. Tax liabilities are seamlessly tracked across various platforms thanks to extensive integrations.

• DeFi Accounting: Unlike other accounting platforms, Bitwave offers extensive DeFi integrations that allow users to track and report on any blockchain position. The platform also provides specialized accounting & tax tracking for staking rewards across major proof-of-stake blockchains.

• Customizable Integrations: As one of the platform’s flagship features, Bitwave provides deep integrations across a diverse range of exchanges, blockchains, DeFi platforms, ERPs, NFT platforms, and custodial wallets. Beyond standard integrations, Bitwave’s unique “Data Fusion” service transforms blockchain data into actionable reports and their robust API supports custom integration needs.
  
• Bitwise Enterprise Payments: Bitwise partnered up with Coinbase Prime to provide a solution for businesses to integrate crypto payments, allowing them to initiate, send, and record crypto payments. This is Bitwise’s newest offering, so we didn’t have a chance to try it yet ourselves. But anytime Coinbase is involved, it is usually something worth checking out.

Bitwave Fees

Unfortunately, Bitwave’s fees are completely opaque and clients must contact the platform in order to receive a quote. Enterprise accounting solutions are usually needs-based so it makes sense to charge on a case-by-case basis. 

Our Expert Review of Bitwave

Bitwave provides a comprehensive suite of accounting and bookkeeping features tailored to the crypto world. The platform helps transactions across popular centralized exchanges, NFT marketplaces, and even throughout the DeFi ecosystem.

Crypto Accounting & Bookkeeping

At the core of the Bitwave platform are the accounting and bookkeeping features. These include fair value accounting, AR/AP, customizable impairment, complex wallet assignments, and more.

Users can choose between GAAP or IFRS standard reporting for their books. Additionally, a host of integrations with the broader crypto ecosystem ensure that assets can be marked-to-market with just one click through Bitwave’s impairment process. The platform boasts a powerful rules engine that can categorize thousands of transactions and report on-chain data with audit-ready invoice-matching and smart categorization workflows. 

Once transactions are sorted and categorized, all data can be synced to ERP platforms through out-of-the-box integrations with popular software such as Intuit Quickbooks, Oracle Netsuite, Sage Intacct, and more. 

Crypto Tax Tracking

Crypto tax scenarios can quickly get very complicated. Bitwave helps teams keep their tax liabilities sorted through a variety of functions and use-cases. 

The platform offers customizable gains and losses reporting that users can integrate in different ways depending on their specific needs. Businesses can select from several tax strategies including FIFO, LIFO, Cost Averaging, and Spec ID for their accounting. Bitwave even makes cost basis methodologies customizable on a per-wallet and per-asset basis for accurate tracking in complex scenarios such as ICOs. 

Thanks to Bitwave’s native integrations, tax liabilities from a variety of centralized and decentralized platforms, blockchains, and protocols can be easily analyzed. 

NFTs

With comprehensive integrations across major blockchains and several NFT marketplaces, Bitwave makes NFT accounting easy. The service integrates directly with OpenSea, Magic Eden, and Art Blocks for seamless tracking of NFT assets anywhere in the Ethereum or Solana ecosystems.

The benefits of these integrations include comparing floor prices across marketplaces, keeping track of fees, monitoring royalties, and more for any of the three supported NFT standards: ERC-721, ERC-1155, and Solana’s SPL. 

DeFi

Many accounting platforms provide tools for tracking assets across centralized exchanges but Bitwave goes a step further with comprehensive DeFi (Decentralized Finance) integrations. 

According to Bitwave, the software can track DeFi positions across any protocol on any blockchain. Users can then generate reports on all types of DeFi positions for management reporting, accounting, and bookkeeping purposes. While all types of DeFi transactions can be imported into the software, Bitwave offers native integrations with individual DeFi protocols such as 1inch, Curve, Uniswap, and Yearn for a better user experience. 

Bitwave also provides accounting services for staking that include staking reward recognition, expense management, cost basis tracking, and more. Rewards can be tracked as they’re earned — by hour, day, or epoch — rather than only when they’re claimed. As with the rest of the Bitwave suite, the platform tracks staking gas fees, pool fees, and other expenses and offers a direct pipeline into ERP software for these expenses. Large proof-of-stake blockchains including Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, and others are supported. 

Integrations & API

Integrations are critical for bookkeeping and tax software. Bitwave puts a large focus on maintaining support for a wide range of blockchains and protocols. 

The platform boasts “audit-ready” integrations and serves as the only Crypto SDN Partner with approved integration for NetSuite, as well as the only Crypto Intacct MPP with an approved integration for Sage.  

A unique aspect of Bitwave is the “Data Fusion” service which allows users to transform any type of blockchain data into useful reports or transfer it into an ERP system. Users can turn blockchain NFT sales data into an invoice, assign a cost basis and token lot to exchange fees, record wallet balances from on-chain data sources directly into an ERP, and more using this technology. 

Bitwave also offers customizable integrations for unique business needs through a robust API. Balances, transaction history, reports, and more can automatically be generated through the platform’s API. Users are also encouraged to inquire about custom integration options. 

Customer Service

Bitwave prides itself when it comes to customer service. We used them personally and have been happy with the support we have received so far. To quote Milk Road’s very own, Carter Brutschy:

“The best part of the product (specifically, onboarding to the product) has been our account manager. We have a standing weekly meeting that started out as a way to learn the product and has turned into troubleshooting, best practices, automation, etc. There have been multiple instances where we are chatting through something and she pings engineering and before our call is over the issue is resolved. I’m not sure they will be able to offer this level of service as they scale but for now it’s a great benefit as a user. We also have a slack connection where I am connected to 12 Bitwave employees and can ping anytime.”

~Carter Brutschy

But don’t just take our word for it. Bitwave offers several customer service options, which have been generally well-received in online reviews.

Potential clients can contact the platform and expect to receive a response within 48 hours. For urgent requests, clients can email Bitwave at info@bitwave.io, or call them direclty at +1 (415) 450-9524.

Who’s Bitwave For? 

• People who need enterprise tax & accounting: Bitwave is an enterprise product that’s focused on business use-cases. Any business handling digital assets like cryptocurrencies or NFTs can use Bitwave for accounting, bookkeeping, and tax services. The platform supports native integrations for both blockchain protocols and ERP platforms so accountants and tax experts can easily prepare compliant reports. 

• People who provide crypto services: While many individuals need crypto accounting software to keep track of their gains, Bitwave is a popular choice for crypto-native institutions. This includes blockchains, protocols, miners, non-profits, and other entities that are wholly immersed in the crypto world. The software’s numerous integrations and extensive customizability make bookkeeping and tax reporting easy for blockchain-based businesses. 

• People who need custom accounting solutions: The fast-pace of change in the crypto world means that your company’s specific accounting needs may not be covered by existing integrations. The Bitwave team is on standby ready to help users with custom integrations of all types. This includes providing clients with tools like the API and the Data Fusion service, but also tailor-making individual solutions. 

Who’s it Not For?

• People who need individual tax & accounting: Bitwave is an enterprise product through and through. Individuals doing their personal taxes and books will likely find that the product is not suited for their particular needs. The software does not provide automatic sign-up and does not display their prices publicly, so it’s safe to say individuals should look elsewhere for their accounting solutions.  

• People who are new to bookkeeping: Bitwave provides user support and even offers educational courses through BitwaveU, however the platform is made for seasoned accountants & tax experts. As an enterprise product, Bitwave best serves businesses that already have accounting competence and are in the market for a powerful tool to put to use.

Bitwave Alternatives 

We’ve compared crypto tax and accounting software previously here at Milk Road. In that comparison, we named Bitwave the Best Overall, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some great alternatives to consider. 

Bitwave vs. Ledgible

While Bitwave strives to be the one-and-only for enterprise tax and accounting, Ledgible was built with both individuals and CPAs in mind. Users can work on behalf of their clients and edit documents simultaneously. The service also integrates with over 200 exchanges. 

For CPA use-cases, Ledgible may be a good choice, but Bitwave still provides more features and customizability across the board. 

Bitwave vs. Cryptio

Cryptio is geared more towards enterprise clients than either Ledgible or Bitwave. They’ve handled such notable clients as Uniswap, Luxor, Mythical Games, and the Optimism Foundation. As far as features go, Cryptio offers a full suite of bookkeeping, tax, and accounting software and also supports a rules engine (though Bitwave has a more powerful one). 

Is Bitwave Safe to Use? 

Due to the ever-changing nature of crypto, we cannot accurately say how safe and secure a product is now or will be in the future. We have examined a variety of factors to determine how safe we believe Bitwave is, but please always use caution and thoroughly investigate the platform for yourself before using it.

Unlike many other crypto products, the Bitwave platform does not execute any crypto transactions or handle user funds directly. This means that they don’t require a sophisticated set of blockchain security measures the way many DeFi protocols and centralized exchanges do. 

Nevertheless, Bitwave takes security seriously as a platform, and urges users to share any vulnerabilities or breaches in confidentiality they may come across. The company undergoes regular security audits and has trained staff to safeguard user data. Additionally, the platform is AICPA SOC certified, providing an enterprise-grade level of security. 

Bitwave Founders

Bitwave was founded by co-founders Pat White and Amy Kalnoki. 

The duo previously co-founded Synata, a search startup acquired by Cisco in 2016. They worked at Cisco for several years before leaving to start Bitwave in 2018. 

When Was Bitwave Founded?

Bitwave was founded in 2018.

How Much Money They’ve Raised

Bitwave has raised a total of $22.25 million dollars. 

The company has closed two funding rounds: a $7.25 million seed round in 2021 and a $15 million series A in 2022.

Final Thoughts On Bitwave 

When it comes to enterprise crypto accounting, it’s hard to find a better product than Bitwave. The platform hyper-focuses on large business use-cases and they excel in that sector. Thanks to a plethora of integrations, support for DeFi & NFTs, and a high degree of customizability, Bitwave is a solid accounting solution for any corporation that deals with crypto assets in any capacity.     

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George Hristov

Contributor

George is a tech writer interested in web3 startups and communities. In the dynamic world of crypto, he stays plugged into the day-to-day headlines, deep dives, and industry commentary.

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Amber Hoffman

COO

Amber is Milk Road’s COO and responsible for all of the company’s operations. A retired tax lawyer, she has over a decade of experience in writing, content management, SEO, and team management.

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