The nation’s main accounting rulemaker, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), has kicked off critical research into how companies will report their digital assets, a move sparked by the White House’s push for crypto clarity.
FASB Chair Richard Jones announced on August 13, 2025, that a new project has been added to the board’s research agenda, aiming to figure out how companies should count their digital holdings.
This isn’t just an internal decision. Jones pointed directly to “a recent recommendation from the President’s Working Group on digital asset markets” as a key driver. It signals a growing urgency from Washington to bring some order and transparency to the booming digital economy.
Initially, the FASB will focus on two crucial questions, Jones said:
- Are digital tokens like cash? FASB staff will explore which digital assets might be considered “cash equivalents” – a big deal for how companies manage their finances.
- How to record transfers of digital assets? Staff will also look into the accounting rules for moving digital assets around.
The research will get “more information for our board to consider in the future to see if there’s a project there for us,” Jones explained. “Digital assets” is a broad term encompassing various types such as cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens, stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets.
White House Pushes for Digital Dominance
The impetus from the White House comes from the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets. This federal initiative, launched by President Trump in early 2025 via Executive Order 14178, aims to position the U.S. as a global leader in digital financial technology, especially in cryptocurrencies and blockchain.
Composed of high-ranking officials including from agencies like the SEC and the CFTC, the group was tasked with outlining regulatory and legislative proposals within 180 days. They hit their deadline, submitting their comprehensive report on July 30, 2025. This executive order has already begun reshaping how federal agencies view and regulate digital innovation.
FASB’s Process
But while there’s growing regulatory interest and some SEC guidance around stablecoins, U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) do not allow for the recognition of any digital assets—including stablecoins—as cash or cash equivalents. The SEC has hinted at treating certain stablecoins like cash equivalents in specific contexts (e.g., disclosures or risk assessments), but this is not codified in GAAP. Therefore, while some companies may disclose stablecoins separately or include them in restricted cash or other current assets, they cannot report them as cash equivalents in financial statements.
That could change. When the FASB places a topic on its “research agenda” that signals it’s seriously considering a topic for its technical “rulemaking” agenda, which is set by the full board. The “research agenda” is the testing ground where the rules are initially explored in earnest. Topics make it onto the technical rule-making agenda if they:
- Are causing widespread confusion or different accounting practices.
- Don’t have clear rules in current U.S. accounting standards (GAAP).
- Have a clear way to be addressed.
- Offer benefits that outweigh the costs of changing rules.
- Will ultimately provide useful information for investors to make better decisions.
This new digital assets project joins eight other crucial topics on the FASB’s research plate, including how companies account for their intangible assets (like patents or brand value) and how they present their cash flows.
“As you know, there are numerous items on the research agenda,” Jones concluded. “One of those items is the invitation to comment on agenda outreach, which effectively incorporates every item that we’re hearing into our research agenda for future decisions of the board.” This “agenda outreach,” specifically Invitation-to-Comment No. 2025-ITC100, released by the FASB in January, received extensive public feedback. Among the dozens of responses were urgent pleas from crypto firms for the board to address cryptocurrencies, particularly stablecoins, given their skyrocketing adoption.
Digital Assets: Why They Aren’t “Cash”
Currently, under Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 305, digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum aren’t considered “cash equivalents”, because they aren’t backed by a central authority, their prices are highly volatile, and they lack guaranteed ways to be redeemed.
Even stablecoins, like USD Coin (USDC) and Tether (USDT)—which are pegged to the U.S. dollar—don’t count as cash equivalents because they aren’t formally recognized by GAAP, aren’t considered legal tender or traditional financial tools, and don’t meet the necessary maturity and risk criteria.
Because of the lack of explicit rules, companies are finding creative, yet careful, ways to report their digital asset holdings, according to published reports. Many report stablecoins and other digital assets under categories like “other current assets” or “restricted cash,” rather than as cash. Some companies also add detailed notes in their financial reports to help bridge the gap between the actual business operations and current accounting rules. This helps avoid misclassification while still showing investors what they hold.
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