Accounting for digital currencies

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is twofold: (i) to investigate some of the main issues surrounding the classification of digital currencies, and (ii) to identify the accounting practices and standards tied to digital currencies. This paper discusses two different types of digital currencies, including: central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and privately issued cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. The findings of this study suggest that current accounting standards do not precisely cover the accounting treatment of digital currencies, even though the estimated value of market capitalisation of cryptocurrency in 2022 was USD 200 billion. This conceptual paper identifies the imminent need for an accounting standard to provide guidance on the identification, classification, measurement, and presentation of digital currencies. In the interim, existing accounting standards can be amended to incorporate digital currencies to avoid inconsistent global accounting approaches.