How are buying, selling, getting paid in, paying with and staking crypto accounted for?

Buying crypto

ASU 2023-08 doesn't cover the first measurement of crypto. Deloitte says companies keep using the general rules for intangible assets for that.⁴ EY says crypto bought on its own is recorded at cost.¹ Under IFRS, intangible assets are also measured at cost at first.⁵

What about fees, such as exchange commissions or gas? The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) gives gas fees as an example of transaction costs to acquire crypto.⁶ The FASB chose not to give guidance on these costs.⁷ Deloitte and PwC say that, without industry-specific rules, they are generally added to the crypto's cost.^8,2 The FASB noted that, either way, the effect on comprehensive income in the period of purchase is the same, because the crypto is remeasured to fair value.⁷

The journal is simple. An asset goes up and cash goes down: debit crypto assets, credit cash.^9,10

Selling crypto

ASU 2023-08 doesn't cover removing crypto from the books either; other US GAAP does.¹¹ EY says a sale or transfer generally follows the rules for removing non-financial assets, unless a scope exception applies.¹ If selling crypto is part of a company's ordinary business, EY says the sale is revenue from a customer instead.¹

The gain or loss is the price received minus the carrying amount of what was sold.² PwC shows the journal for a sale at a gain: debit cash, credit the crypto sold, and credit the gain to make the two sides equal.² For a loss, the balancing amount is a debit.^10,9

Under ASU 2023-08, the carrying amount is the fair value at the last remeasurement, or cost, for units bought since then. EY says such companies recognise changes in fair value in net income as they occur.¹ The yearly disclosure of realised gains still uses the original cost basis. So if the crypto was remeasured in an earlier period, Deloitte notes the two figures may differ.⁸

Under IFRS, the gain or loss on disposing of an intangible asset goes into profit or loss.⁵

Getting paid in crypto

When a customer pays in crypto for goods or services, EY and PwC say it is noncash consideration under ASC 606, the US revenue standard. The company measures the crypto's fair value at contract inception, when the contract starts.^1,2 PwC notes that this fair value may differ from the value on the day the crypto arrives.² Later changes in value don't change the revenue.¹

If the company sells that crypto nearly immediately, the cash counts as operating cash flow.¹ It also doesn't need to go into the yearly reconciliation of crypto holdings.¹¹

Paying with crypto, and paying fees in crypto

Paying with crypto means giving some of it up. The ASU's yearly disclosure lists "use as payment for services" as one kind of disposition.¹¹ EY lists transferring crypto to a vendor for goods and services as one of the ways a holder disposes of it.¹

ASU 2023-08 leaves the details of removing crypto from the books to other US GAAP.¹¹ So how a fee paid in crypto is measured depends on which of those rules applies. That is a question for an accountant.^11,1

Swapping one crypto for another

EY says a swap may fall under the revenue rules, the rules for removing non-financial assets, or the rules for non-monetary exchanges. It depends on why the company made the swap.¹ PwC says that if the fair value of the crypto received can't be found reliably, it can be measured by reference to the crypto given up.²

Staking rewards

EY says US GAAP has no specific guidance for mining rewards, and that staking rewards raise similar questions. KPMG says it is unclear how the IFRS revenue standard applies to them. So the big accounting firms' published views fill the gap.^1,12,3

• EY (US GAAP). For mining rewards, EY believes it is appropriate to apply the revenue standard's rules by analogy, and it says the accounting questions for staking rewards are similar.^1,12
• PwC (US GAAP). A company should consider whether staking is a contract with a customer under ASC 606, which may need judgement.²
• KPMG (IFRS). Staking rewards generally meet the definition of revenue when staking is part of a company's ordinary activities. But it is unclear whether a contract with a customer exists under IFRS 15.³ If not, the company develops its own accounting policy under IAS 8.³ KPMG adds that a company that delegates its tokens to a validator generally keeps them on its books.³

The FASB's basis for conclusions says that a company which validates and receives newly created crypto is not that crypto's creator.⁷ In June 2026, FASB staff listed staking among the crypto transfer arrangements in its current work.¹³