IASB to focus on crypto in 2026 accounting framework projects

Global accounting rule-makers seem finally ready to give crypto and digital assets the attention they deserve. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), has shared plans that could involve addressing cryptocurrency and digital assets as part of its broader efforts to update existing accounting frameworks in 2026. 

The Financial Accounting Standards Board is also gearing up for a similar move, hinting at a future where crypto and digital assets become even more integrated into TradFi in the US. 

What are the IASB’s plans for crypto in 2026?

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is yet to make a definitive commitment to a standalone crypto standard. However, it plans to update IAS 38 (Intangible Assets) which is expected to address crypto-related issues as crypto usually falls under that category.

This means the industry could soon get more clarification on how companies report crypto on their balance sheets. Experts have touted this as a big deal for transparency, claiming it could help crypto become more legitimate. 

What has been confirmed is the IASB’s plan to explore pressing issues like if stablecoins, the hottest application in crypto right now, should qualify as a cash equivalent or if some digital assets are to be tagged liabilities or equity. 

The official work plan regarding the IAS 38 is scheduled for the second half of the new year and will involve research to determine what the project will achieve while potentially addressing crypto-related accounting. 

The news has many on the edge of their seats because whatever the outcome is, it will be enforced in the over 140 countries linked to the IASB, which is headquartered in London. 

The FASB also has similar plans 

The Financial Accounting Standards Board, a counterpart of the IASB that focuses on creating accounting frameworks for US public companies has also shared similar plans regarding crypto, however theirs is more definitive. 

According to Cryptopolitan, in 2026, the Financial Accounting Standards Board will explore two topics: whether some cryptocurrency assets may qualify as cash equivalents and how to account for crypto transfers, both of which could create new standards.

Both organizations differ in their approach, as the IASB plans to prioritize stablecoins and broader transparency in financial reporting, while the FASB has directly claimed it added the two topics to its agenda in response to public feedback. 

Both cryptocurrency projects were the first among over 70 potential topics the FASB plans to consider, and were among the first to be added to the group’s agenda. Last year October, the FASB revealed in an update that its chair had added a project on digital assets to the group’s agenda on August 13. 

The update claimed the FASB board “added a project to its technical agenda to clarify whether certain digital assets may be classified as cash equivalents,” and that it would begin initial deliberations on the issue at a future meeting.

In another update from November 2025, the FASB revealed that the issue of accounting for transfers of digital assets was added to the board’s research agenda by the FASB chair in August. 

The board reportedly added a project to its technical agenda related to this topic on November 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.”

The addition of the two projects to the board’s research agenda was its response to feedback received on its annual agenda consultation as well as recommendations included in a report issued by the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets. 

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

The question of whether certain stablecoins qualify as “cash equivalents” under the US generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) that the FASB enforces is a key crypto battleground for enterprise back offices. 

As such, it is believed the  FASB’s decision to add the project to its agenda means clarification is coming. 

“A lot of people spend a lot of time and effort to help us with formulating what our agenda is,” Chair Rich Jones said. “I view 2026 as taking that and carrying out our end of the bargain.”

The board says it expects to decide on all the other possible additions by the end of summer.