Accounting for Digital Assets and Cryptocurrencies under IFRS Academic Working Paper and Standard-Setting Discussion Paper for IASB / IFRS / CPC Consideration https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/XDHT3

Abstract

The accounting for cryptoassets under current IFRS remains fragmented. Following the IFRS Interpretations Committee's 2019 agenda decision on holdings of cryptocurrencies, most holders default to IAS 38 Intangible Assets unless IAS 2 Inventories applies. That outcome produces incomplete comparability, weak performance reporting, and a recurring tension between the economic liquidity of many cryptoassets and the accounting model applied to them. This discussion paper proposes a narrow holder-side framework for fungible cryptoassets that do not provide the holder with an enforceable claim on an issuer, measured subsequently at fair value through profit or loss, with business model affecting presentation and disclosures rather than measurement. The analysis also addresses matters commonly omitted in early crypto accounting proposals: counterpart entries for acquisition, use, rewards and disposal; liability-side consequences arising from taxes, slashing, safeguarding, financing and legal obligations; interaction with IFRS 13, IAS 12, IAS 37 and IFRS 7; and practical illustrations across treasury entities, funds, exchanges, validators, Web3 operators and payment platforms. Public-company reporting examples are incorporated as illustrative evidence of how existing accounting frameworks affect balance-sheet presentation, profit or loss, deferred taxes and scope boundaries in practice.