This week, PwC, which is one of the 4 largest accounting companies in the world, announced the launch of their own cryptocurrency auditing software product.

Released as part of the company's Halo auditing suite, the software supports organizations that engage in digital currency transactions. It not only establishes the ownership of digital assets, but it also collects information from various blockchains relating to both transactions and account balances.

At the moment, it is not clear whether the software is intended specifically for cryptocurrency companies or for traditional firms that may engage in cryptocurrency activities outside the range of their normal operations. But regardless of which, many in the cryptocurrency world see the release of the software as another industry landmark.

Performing auditing of cryptocurrency operations is something that is currently at a nascent stage in the industry. The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, which is an international trade association of accountants, believes that the auditing of activities involving digital currencies is necessary. Though, at the same time, Narayanan Vaidyanathan — who is the head of business insights for the association — says that one of the challenges of cryptocurrency auditing is determining whether to treat the currencies as cash, inventory, financial assets or something entirely intangible.

David Martin, who is the chief investment officer for Blockforce Capital, says that cryptocurrency auditing services could very well vary depending on how companies actually use digital currencies. For example, he says that a firm that engages in making cryptocurrency transactions requires a different set of services than a firm that holds digital currencies as a means of an investment.

The auditing of cryptocurrency companies has so far not been without controversies. Last year, Tether, which is the company behind the popular eponymous stablecoin, backed away from performing and releasing the results of an independent audit. Later that year, though, they did release a memorandum issued by an auditing company, along with an explanation that top accounting firms would not perform cryptocurrency audits.

But with PwC's entry into the market, it will become increasingly difficult for cryptocurrency companies to make these excuses in the future.