Companies’ Balance Sheets Set for a Crypto Makeover with FASB’s Update

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has charted a new direction for companies holding cryptocurrencies. By 2025, organizations will record their crypto at its fair market value on their balance sheets, replacing the older, potentially disadvantageous practices and introducing more dynamic results.

Operating as the chief authority on U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), the FASB has recently greenlit these changes. Back in March, they invited feedback on potential revisions to the FASB Accounting Standards Codification. A conclusive vote on the proposal took place on September 6.

Historically, the FASB had explored the concept of fair value accounting for crypto assets, and by October 2022, they made a provisional decision. Fair value, in essence, is the projected price of an asset factoring in its current market rate and other significant parameters.

Previously, companies had to reflect impairment losses linked to sudden devaluations in crypto on their balance sheets—even when the cryptocurrency regained its lost value. However, with the new accounting standards, while there might be a spike in earnings volatility for companies heavily invested in crypto, they’ll be able to capture the financial upsides from rising crypto values.

For those eager to adapt, the transition can commence immediately. Highlighting the dual benefit of this change, FASB member Christine Botosan mentioned, “It’s not very often that we can both take cost out of the system and improve the decision usefulness of information, and it makes it a really easy vote to do both of those.”

The accounting shift isn’t limited to firms like Coinbase. It has implications for investment entities and businesses such as MicroStrategy and Tesla, which possess substantial crypto assets. Reacting to this transformation, Michael Saylor, MicroStrategy’s chairman, shared, “Fair value accounting is coming to #Bitcoin. This upgrade to FASB accounting rules eliminates a major impediment to corporate adoption of $BTC as a treasury asset.”

In line with the updates, the term ‘crypto’ will be listed under “intangible assets” in financial documents.