Period-end crypto remeasurement: the fair value journal, step by step
How to book the quarter-end fair value adjustment under ASU 2023-08, how the IFRS impairment model differs, and why cut-off time matters.
Every reporting date, US GAAP reporters with in-scope crypto must restate those holdings to fair value and run the difference through net income. Getting it right depends less on the journal, which is simple, and more on the inputs: the right units, the right price, and the right moment.
The US GAAP rule
ASU 2023-08 requires in-scope crypto assets to be measured at fair value on the balance sheet, with remeasurement gains and losses in net income [1]. They are presented separately from other intangible assets, and the gains and losses separately from changes in other intangibles [1]. The standard applies to fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024, including interim periods, so calendar-year companies are now applying it every quarter [1].
Scope matters. Only fungible tokens on a blockchain that give no enforceable rights to underlying assets, and were not issued by you or a related party, are in scope [1]. Many stablecoins and, for now, wrapped tokens fall outside. The FASB has voted to issue a proposal that would bring wrapped tokens into scope, with the exposure draft expected in the first quarter of 2027 [2]. Until then, keep out-of-scope assets on their existing model.
The remeasurement in five steps
- Confirm units. Reconcile on-chain and custodial balances to the subledger by wallet and asset before you price anything.
- Pick the price. Fair value follows Topic 820, which involves identifying the principal (or most advantageous) market and assessing third-party quotes [1].
- Fix the timestamp. Use the same cut-off every period, for example 23:59:59 in the entity's reporting time zone, and document it.
- Compute the adjustment per asset: units times period-end price, less carrying amount before the adjustment.
- Post one adjustment per asset and keep the calculation with the price evidence.
The cut-off point is a policy choice, not something the standard prescribes. Crypto trades around the clock, so a price at midnight UTC and midnight New York can differ materially on a volatile day. Choose once, apply it consistently, and align it with the timestamp you use to cut off transactions so units and price describe the same moment.
| Account | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 close Carrying amount after Q2 close: 10 x $2,400 = $24,000. Price at Q3 cut-off $2,700: 10 x $2,700 = $27,000. Adjustment +$3,000 | ||
| Digital assets - ETH | 3,000.00 | |
| Gain on remeasurement of digital assets | 3,000.00 | |
| Q4 close Price at Q4 cut-off $2,200: 10 x $2,200 = $22,000. Adjustment -$5,000 | ||
| Loss on remeasurement of digital assets | 5,000.00 | |
| Digital assets - ETH | 5,000.00 | |
Disclosures the close must feed
The journal is the easy part. ASU 2023-08 also requires, at each interim and annual date, the name, cost basis, fair value and units of each significant holding [1]. Annually it requires the cost basis method, a rollforward of additions, dispositions, gains and losses, and cumulative realized gains and losses on dispositions measured against cost basis [1]. That means your subledger must keep cost basis by lot alongside the fair value carrying amount. A gain booked at disposal against the last carrying amount is not the realized gain the disclosure asks for [1].
Holdings under contractual sale restrictions need their fair value, the nature and duration of the restriction, and what could end it, disclosed each period [1].
The IFRS alternative: cost and impairment
IFRS has no equivalent standard. The Interpretations Committee concluded that crypto held for sale in the ordinary course of business is inventory under IAS 2, with commodity broker-traders able to measure at fair value less costs to sell, and that other holdings fall under IAS 38 as intangible assets [3].
Under IAS 38 the default is cost. The revaluation model is allowed only where an active market exists; increases go to other comprehensive income and a revaluation surplus unless they reverse an earlier loss in profit or loss, and decreases hit profit or loss after any surplus is used up [4]. Under the cost model, IAS 36 applies: assess indicators at each reporting date, test indefinite-life intangibles annually, and write down to recoverable amount, the higher of fair value less costs of disposal and value in use [5]. Impairments on assets other than goodwill can reverse, but not above the carrying amount there would have been with no impairment [5].
| Account | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| Year-end impairment Cost $24,000. Fair value less costs of disposal at year end: $22,100 - $100 = $22,000. Impairment $2,000 | ||
| Impairment loss - digital assets | 2,000.00 | |
| Accumulated impairment - digital assets | 2,000.00 | |
| Next year, price recovers Recoverable amount $26,000, but reversal capped at original carrying amount of $24,000: reverse $2,000 only | ||
| Accumulated impairment - digital assets | 2,000.00 | |
| Impairment reversal - digital assets | 2,000.00 | |
The Committee also pointed IFRS reporters to IAS 10: if crypto prices move sharply after the reporting date, consider whether the change is a material non-adjusting event that needs disclosure [3].
What to do
- Write the cut-off time and principal-market policy into the close manual and use it every period.
- Reconcile units before pricing, and keep the price evidence with each adjustment.
- Maintain cost basis by lot alongside fair value so disclosures can be built from the subledger.
- Review scope each quarter, especially for stablecoins and wrapped tokens, and watch the FASB transfers proposal.
- For IFRS entities, document the IAS 2 or IAS 38 judgement and run impairment indicators at every close.
Sources
- ASU 2023-08 Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Crypto Assets (Subtopic 350-60) (FASB)
- Accounting for Crypto Assets: Feedback and Standard-Setting Updates (ASAF, October 2026, AP7B) (FASB / IFRS Foundation)
- Holdings of Cryptocurrencies - June 2019 (agenda decision) (IFRS Interpretations Committee)
- IAS 38 - Intangible Assets (Deloitte IAS Plus)
- IAS 36 - Impairment of Assets (Deloitte IAS Plus)
General information for finance teams, current as of publication. Not legal, tax or accounting advice.