Accounting for and Disclosure of Crypto Assets (formerly known as Accounting for and Disclosure of Digital Assets)
Last updated on March 27, 2023. Please refer to the Current Technical Plan for information about the expected release dates of exposure documents and final standards.
(Sections updated on the date above are indicated with an asterisk *)
The objective of this project is to improve the accounting for and disclosure of certain crypto assets.
On December 15, 2021, in response to feedback received on the June 2021 Invitation to Comment, Agenda Prioritization, FASB Chair Rich Jones added a project to the Board's research agenda to explore accounting for and disclosure of a subset of exchange-traded digital assets and exchange-traded commodities.
The Board added a project to its technical agenda to improve the accounting for and disclosure of certain crypto assets.
The Board discussed clarifications to the scope, transition, costs and benefits of the decisions reached, and the comment period.
The Board decided to clarify that the scope of this project would exclude crypto assets created or issued by the reporting entity or their related parties. The Board also observed that the scope criteria would exclude assets commonly referred to as “wrapped tokens” and that the Board’s basis for conclusions should clearly emphasize that point. The Board decided to not modify the scope criteria to specify that the distributed ledger or blockchain must be public.
The Board decided that early adoption should be permitted and that a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings (or other appropriate components of equity or net assets in the statement of financial position) would be recognized as of the beginning of the first annual period in which the guidance is adopted. The Board decided that all entities, including nonpublic entities, should be subject to the same effective date and transition requirements; the Board will further consider this in establishing the effective date in the issuance of a final Accounting Standards Update.
The Board concluded that it has received sufficient information and analysis to make an informed decision on the expected costs of the proposed amendments and that the expected benefits of those amendments would justify the expected costs.
The Board directed the staff to draft a proposed Accounting Standards Update for vote by written ballot. Additionally, the Board decided to expose the proposed Update for public comment for 75 days.
A summary of the Board’s tentative decisions reached to date can be found here.
Last updated on March 27, 2023. Please refer to the Current Technical Plan for information about the expected release dates of exposure documents and final standards.
(Sections updated on the date above are indicated with an asterisk *)
Objective:
The objective of this project is to improve the accounting for and disclosure of certain crypto assets.
Background:
On December 15, 2021, in response to feedback received on the June 2021 Invitation to Comment, Agenda Prioritization, FASB Chair Rich Jones added a project to the Board's research agenda to explore accounting for and disclosure of a subset of exchange-traded digital assets and exchange-traded commodities.
The Board added a project to its technical agenda to improve the accounting for and disclosure of certain crypto assets.
Exposure Draft(s):
On March 23, 2023, the Board issued Proposed Accounting Standards Update, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other—Crypto Assets (Subtopic 350-60): Accounting for and Disclosure of Crypto Assets. The due date for comment letters is June 6, 2023.- Download the proposed Accounting Standards Update, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other—Crypto Assets (Subtopic 350-60): Accounting for and Disclosure of Crypto Assets.
- Read comment letters on the proposed Accounting Standards Update.
- Read the press release on the proposed Accounting Standards Update.
- Watch the video on the proposed Accounting Standards Update.
Decisions Reached at Last Meeting (February 1, 2023):
February 1, 2023
The Board discussed clarifications to the scope, transition, costs and benefits of the decisions reached, and the comment period.
The Board decided to clarify that the scope of this project would exclude crypto assets created or issued by the reporting entity or their related parties. The Board also observed that the scope criteria would exclude assets commonly referred to as “wrapped tokens” and that the Board’s basis for conclusions should clearly emphasize that point. The Board decided to not modify the scope criteria to specify that the distributed ledger or blockchain must be public.
The Board decided that early adoption should be permitted and that a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings (or other appropriate components of equity or net assets in the statement of financial position) would be recognized as of the beginning of the first annual period in which the guidance is adopted. The Board decided that all entities, including nonpublic entities, should be subject to the same effective date and transition requirements; the Board will further consider this in establishing the effective date in the issuance of a final Accounting Standards Update.
The Board concluded that it has received sufficient information and analysis to make an informed decision on the expected costs of the proposed amendments and that the expected benefits of those amendments would justify the expected costs.
The Board directed the staff to draft a proposed Accounting Standards Update for vote by written ballot. Additionally, the Board decided to expose the proposed Update for public comment for 75 days.
Tentative Board Decisions Reached to Date (as of February 1, 2023):
A summary of the Board’s tentative decisions reached to date can be found here.
The Board meeting minutes, handouts, and videos are provided for the information and convenience of constituents who want to follow the Board’s deliberations. All of the conclusions reported are tentative and may be changed at future Board meetings. Decisions become final only after a formal written ballot to issue a final standard.
The following are links to the minutes for each meeting. To view Board meetings and handouts from the past 90 days, click here.
The following are links to the minutes for each meeting. To view Board meetings and handouts from the past 90 days, click here.
| February 1, 2023 | Board Meeting—The Board discussed clarifications to the scope, transition, costs and benefits of the decisions reached, and the comment period. |
| December 14, 2022 | Board Meeting—The Board discussed how entities that hold crypto assets within the scope of this project should present and disclose those assets. |
| October 12, 2022 | Board Meeting—The Board discussed how entities that hold crypto assets within the scope of this project should measure those assets. |
| August 31, 2022 | Board Meeting—The Board discussed the scope criteria and different entity types that would be within the scope of the proposed guidance. |
| May 11, 2022 | Board Meeting—The Board added a project to its technical agenda to improve the accounting for and disclosure of certain digital assets. The Board decided not to add to its technical agenda a project that would address the accounting for exchange-traded commodities; however, the chair decided that this topic would remain a research agenda project. |
The Board will continue redeliberations of the amendments in the proposed Update.
Nicholas Cappiello
Supervising Project Manager
ntcappiello@fasb.org
Tiffany Wyszkowski
Project Manager
twyszkowski@fasb.org
Sally Bishop
Practice Fellow
sbishop@fasb.org
Gary Sardo
Practice Fellow
gsardo@fasb.org
Cassie Mongold
Post-Doctoral Fellow
cmongold@fasb.org
Lindsey Hoyer
Postgraduate Technical Assistant
lhoyer@fasb.org
Emma Little
Postgraduate Technical Assistant
elittle@fasb.org
Supervising Project Manager
ntcappiello@fasb.org
Tiffany Wyszkowski
Project Manager
twyszkowski@fasb.org
Sally Bishop
Practice Fellow
sbishop@fasb.org
Gary Sardo
Practice Fellow
gsardo@fasb.org
Cassie Mongold
Post-Doctoral Fellow
cmongold@fasb.org
Lindsey Hoyer
Postgraduate Technical Assistant
lhoyer@fasb.org
Emma Little
Postgraduate Technical Assistant
elittle@fasb.org
The staff has prepared this summary for information purposes only. Any Board decisions are tentative and do not change current accounting. Official positions of the FASB are determined only after extensive due process and deliberations.