18.5 AICPA Digital Assets Working Group
The AICPA Digital Assets Working Group has provided nonauthoritative
interpretative guidance on how to account for and audit digital assets. A digital
asset is defined in the AICPA’s Blockchain Universal Glossary as
follows:
A digital record made using cryptography for
verification and security purposes on a digital decentralized ledger (referred
to as a blockchain). A digital asset is characterized by its ability to be used
for a variety of purposes, including as a means of exchange, as a representation
to provide or access goods or services, or as a financing vehicle, such as a
security, among other uses.
The AICPA Digital Assets Working Group’s guidance is available in
the AICPA Practice Aid Accounting for and
Auditing of Digital Assets (the “AICPA Practice Aid”).
Among the accounting and auditing issues addressed in the AICPA Practice Aid are
various revenue recognition topics, including those related to crypto-asset lending
and mining transactions.
In addition, the AICPA Practice Aid contains nonauthoritative
interpretative guidance, based on the AICPA Digital Assets Working Group’s
discussions with the SEC staff, on how to apply SAB 121. Issued on March 31, 2022, SAB 121 provides the SEC
staff’s views on accounting for obligations to safeguard crypto assets, although it
does not have direct revenue implications. For more information about SAB 121, see
Deloitte’s April 6, 2022 (updated July 28, 2022), Financial Reporting Alert. For
information and interpretative guidance on the accounting for nonfungible tokens,
see Deloitte’s June 21, 2022, Accounting Spotlight.
Entities should continue to monitor changes in interpretations related to accounting
for digital assets and consider consulting with their accounting advisers.