ASC 350-60 Explained: What the New FASB Crypto Standard Means for Your Books

For years, US GAAP treated cryptocurrency like an indefinite-lived intangible asset. That created a strange situation: companies had to write down crypto when prices fell, but could not write it back up when prices recovered. The balance sheet showed stale, impaired values that had nothing to do with economic reality.

FASB fixed that with ASC 350-60. The new standard requires fair value measurement for crypto assets, with gains and losses flowing through net income each period. If your company holds Bitcoin, Ether, or other in-scope assets, this changes how you close your books starting in 2025.

What ASC 350-60 is and when it took effect

ASC 350-60 (subtopic: Intangibles, Goodwill and Other, Crypto Assets) is the FASB standard that governs how companies account for certain crypto assets on their financial statements. FASB finalized the guidance in December 2023. It is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024, which means calendar-year companies adopted it on January 1, 2025. Early adoption was permitted.

The standard applies to entities within the scope of US GAAP that hold crypto assets meeting the definition in the guidance. It covers fungible assets that are secured through cryptography, reside on a distributed ledger, and are not produced or owed by the reporting entity.

What the old rules required

Before ASC 350-60, companies held crypto under the indefinite-lived intangible asset model in ASC 350-30. That framework was designed for assets like trademarks and customer lists. It was a poor fit for assets that trade on public markets around the clock.

Under the old rules:

• Crypto was initially recorded at cost.
• At each reporting date, you tested for impairment. If the fair value dropped below carrying value, you recorded an impairment loss and wrote the asset down.
• If prices subsequently recovered, you could not write the asset back up. The impairment was permanent.
• Unrealized gains were never recognized. You only saw a gain when you sold.

This produced balance sheets that systematically understated the value of crypto holdings during bull markets and locked in losses that no longer reflected reality. A company that bought Bitcoin at $30,000, watched it fall to $20,000 (triggering an impairment), and then saw it recover to $50,000 would still show $20,000 on the balance sheet until it sold. That is not useful financial information.

What ASC 350-60 requires now

The new standard replaces the impairment model with fair value measurement. Here is what that means in practice.

Initial recognition: Crypto assets are still recorded at cost on acquisition, which equals fair value at the transaction date.

Subsequent measurement: At each reporting date, you remeasure the asset to its current fair value. The change in fair value goes through net income in the current period. Gains and losses are recognized as they occur, not only on disposal.

Presentation: On the balance sheet, crypto assets are presented separately from other intangibles. On the income statement, fair value changes are shown in a dedicated line item so readers can see the volatility separately from operating results.

Disclosures: Companies must disclose the cost basis and fair value of each significant crypto holding, the number of units held, and information about restrictions on the assets.

This is a cleaner, more decision-useful model. A company's balance sheet now reflects what its crypto is actually worth today.

What this changes in your chart of accounts and journal entries

If you adopted ASC 350-60 on January 1, 2025, you need a few new accounts.

Accounts you need:

• Digital Assets (separate line items per asset type: Bitcoin, Ether, etc.)
• Unrealized Gain on Digital Assets (income statement)
• Unrealized Loss on Digital Assets (income statement)
• Realized Gain on Sale of Digital Assets (income statement)
• Realized Loss on Sale of Digital Assets (income statement)

Journal entry at period-end fair value mark (price increase):

Debit: Digital Assets (Bitcoin) for the increase in fair value Credit: Unrealized Gain on Digital Assets for the same amount

Journal entry at period-end fair value mark (price decrease):

Debit: Unrealized Loss on Digital Assets Credit: Digital Assets (Bitcoin) for the decrease in fair value

Journal entry on sale:

When you sell a crypto asset, you remove it from the balance sheet at its current carrying value (the last fair value mark) and record any difference between sale proceeds and that carrying value as a realized gain or loss.

Debit: Cash or Receivable for sale proceeds Credit: Digital Assets (Bitcoin) at current carrying value Debit or Credit: Realized Gain/Loss on Digital Assets for the difference

Note that under fair value accounting, the realized gain on sale will often be small, because most of the economic gain was already recognized through prior-period fair value adjustments.

Practical implications for month-end close

Fair value accounting creates a recurring month-end task that did not exist before: pulling and documenting the fair value of each crypto asset at the reporting date.

Price source. You need a consistent, documented pricing source. CoinGecko, CoinMarketCap, and major exchange closing prices are commonly used. Whatever you choose, document it in your accounting policy and apply it consistently. Auditors will ask how you determined fair value.

Which assets are in scope. The standard covers crypto assets that meet its definition, primarily fungible, publicly traded tokens like Bitcoin and Ether. Assets like NFTs, tokens with restrictions, and certain governance tokens may require separate analysis.

Stablecoins. USDC and USDT sit in an interesting position. Because they are backed by fiat currency and designed to maintain a $1.00 value, many companies treat them as cash equivalents rather than crypto assets under ASC 350-60. That treatment requires documentation and depends on the specific characteristics of the stablecoin. Check with your auditor on how they expect stablecoins to be classified before your first close under the new standard.

Frequency. The standard requires fair value measurement at each reporting date. For companies reporting quarterly, that means four fair value marks per year. Monthly close processes will want to run marks monthly even if reporting is quarterly, to keep the books current.

How a crypto subledger handles fair value automation

Pulling fair value prices manually at month-end is manageable for a company holding one or two assets. It becomes tedious and error-prone when you hold ten or fifteen tokens across multiple wallets and exchanges.

A crypto subledger handles this automatically. It pulls market prices from documented sources at the reporting date, calculates the fair value adjustment for each asset, and generates the journal entries needed to mark your portfolio to current value. Those entries post directly to Xero or QuickBooks, with the price source and calculation retained as supporting documentation.

This matters for the audit trail. Your auditor needs to see not just the journal entry but the price you used, where it came from, and when you pulled it. A subledger that logs this automatically saves a significant amount of time during audit fieldwork.

For companies with DeFi positions, Breezing also handles rewards accrual. If you are earning yield that needs to be recognized as income and then marked to fair value, the system tracks both the accrual and the subsequent fair value changes without requiring manual intervention. The DeFi accounting guide for SMBs covers how that accounting works in more detail.

Frequently asked questions

What is ASC 350-60?

ASC 350-60 is the FASB accounting standard that governs how US companies account for crypto assets on their financial statements. It replaced the old indefinite-lived intangible asset model with fair value measurement, requiring companies to remeasure crypto holdings to fair value at each reporting date and recognize gains and losses through net income.

How did ASC 350-60 change crypto accounting from the old rules?

Under the old rules (ASC 350-30), crypto was held at cost with impairment-only adjustments. Prices could only go down on the balance sheet, never back up. ASC 350-60 replaces that with full fair value measurement, so both increases and decreases in value are recognized each period through the income statement.

What does fair value accounting mean for crypto on the balance sheet?

It means your crypto holdings are reported at their current market value on every balance sheet date, not at original cost or a historically impaired value. Gains and losses from price changes flow through net income in the period they occur, making the balance sheet more current.

When did ASC 350-60 take effect?

It is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. For calendar-year companies, that means the standard applied starting January 1, 2025. Early adoption was permitted, so some companies adopted it in 2023 or 2024.

How should companies implement ASC 350-60?

Start by identifying which assets are in scope, setting up dedicated balance sheet and income statement accounts, and establishing a documented price source for fair value measurements. Update your month-end close checklist to include fair value marks at each reporting date. Consider a crypto subledger to automate price pulls and journal entry generation, and discuss stablecoin classification with your auditor before the first close under the new standard.

Bottom line

ASC 350-60 is a sensible fix to a standard that was never designed for assets that trade in real time. Fair value accounting makes crypto holdings more transparent and more useful to financial statement readers.

For finance teams, the main new obligation is a recurring fair value mark at each reporting date, backed by a documented price source and clean journal entries. That is manageable with the right process in place, and it is the kind of task that a crypto subledger handles well.

For a closer look at how crypto fits into the balance sheet under these rules, the post on crypto balance sheet setup in Xero and QuickBooks covers the mechanics in detail. For treasury teams structuring holdings under the new rules, the crypto treasury management guide covers the operational side. If your company issues a native token, the native token accounting guide walks through how ASC 350-60 applies to each token lifecycle event.