Accounting for cryptocurrencies in international practice

Abstract

Introduction. With the expansion of the application scope of cryptocurrency, the current enterprise accounting processing and the supervision of relevant departments are facing great challenges: due to the lack of corresponding accounting standards, enterprises holding cryptocurrency rely more on the judgment of enterprise accounting when conducting relevant business processing.

The main purpose of this study is to clarify the specific standards for including cryptocurrency in accounting entity, and provide basic guiding principles for the handling of such assets in accounting records and financial reports. The specific objectives of this research include in-depth analysis of the core characteristics of encrypted assets in financial accounting and determination of their appropriate classification attributes.

Methods. Thisstudy strictly follows the scientific and systematicinquirymethod, integrates the conventional research techniques such as analysis, synthesis and generalization, and uses statistical tools as an aid. In order to achieve the research goal, this study carefully screened and deeply analyzed the academic literature and publications in related fields, and adopted interpretation and analysis methods. Through careful content analysis, this study not only reveals the similarities and differences in the literature, but also gives clear guidance on how to properly handle cryptocurrency in financial statements. International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and International Accounting Standards (IAS) serve as theoretical references to evaluate the applicability of cryptocurrency accounting, and provide important standards for considering its impact on financial reporting.

Results. Although cryptocurrencies have gradually developed rapidly, the accounting principles still include the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). The nature of 

cryptocurrency is complex, and it is difficult to determine how to conduct accounting treatment. This situation may make the omission of corporate accounting information disclosure, and the relevant investors will bear higher risks. It may also lead to related enterprises encountering bottlenecks when seeking listing opportunities, and turn to overseas markets to outflow of opportunities. Therefore, we should set appropriate accounting standards for cryptocurrencies as soon as possible. By combing the current Australia, Britain, the United States, Canada has issued encryption currency accounting guidelines, and the relevant provisions of the international accounting standards and the opinions of large accounting firms, the current encryption currency accounting theory exploration, for accounting entities hold encryption currency accounting recommendations.

Perspectives. A promising direction for further research is to improve the methodology of accounting for the movement of cryptocurrency, taking into account the volatility and dynamism of the market. The procedure for controlling electronic transactions using cryptocurrencies to ensure public trust in them, to confirm the reliability of electronic information and the completeness of the display of generalized indicators in various forms of reporting requires additional scientific and applied developments.