FASB to Consider Digital Assets Standards in 2026

Two digital assets-related topics were reportedly among the first issues added to the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB) agenda for 2026 that could create new standards.

The FASB will consider whether some digital assets qualify as cash equivalents and how to account for transfers of digital assets, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Monday (Dec. 29).

These cryptocurrency projects were among more than 70 potential topics that will be considered by the setter of accounting standards, and they were among the first to be added to the group’s agenda, according to the report.

The FASB said in an Oct. 30 update that the FASB chair added a project on digital assets to the group’s agenda on Aug. 13, the FASB board “added a project to its technical agenda to clarify whether certain digital assets may be classified as cash equivalents,” and the board will begin initial deliberations on this issue at a future meeting.

The issue of accounting for transfers of digital assets was added to the board’s research agenda by the FASB chair in August, the group said in a Nov. 20 update. The board added a project to its technical agenda related to this topic on Nov. 19, saying the project would address wrapped tokens and receipt tokens as well as “clarifying the derecognition guidance for crypto transfer arrangements to assess whether the control of a crypto asset has been transferred,” according to the update.

Both projects were added to the board’s research agenda in response to feedback received on the FASB’s annual agenda consultation as well as recommendations included in a report issued by the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets, according to the updates.

According to Monday’s WSJ report, FASB Chair Rich Jones said of the working group’s suggestions: “I am certainly happy that they thought that the way to resolve accounting issues was to recommend them to the FASB for consideration.”

PYMNTS reported in October that the question of whether certain stablecoins qualify as “cash equivalents” under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) is one of the key crypto battlegrounds for enterprise back offices. The FASB’s decision to add this project to its agenda signals that rules are being clarified.