US GAAP ASC 350-60: What Is In Scope for Crypto Fair Value

"Crypto is now fair value" is the shorthand for ASU 2023-08, and it is too broad. The update created ASC 350-60, which reaches only assets that meet a specific set of scope criteria; get the scope wrong and the entire accounting outcome is wrong. This article zeroes in on that scope question, what is in and what is out, as the companion to the ASU 2023-08 hub, which covers measurement, transition, and disclosure once an asset is in. In keeping with the standard, it does not restate the criteria as a fixed checklist.

The scope question in brief

• ASC 350-60 is the US-GAAP sub-topic created by ASU 2023-08: in-scope crypto at fair value through net income, replacing the prior cost-less-impairment model.
• It does not cover every digital asset; it has specific scope criteria.
• Generally out: NFTs, tokens giving enforceable rights or claims to underlying goods or services, an entity's self-issued tokens, and, depending on the facts, certain wrapped tokens.
• Broadly in: a fungible digital asset meeting the intangible-asset definition, on a blockchain, cryptographically secured, with no enforceable rights to underlying goods or services, and not self-issued. That is a high-level shape, not the operative text.
• Scope decides the whole outcome (fair value through net income plus a separate line, versus other guidance), so it is settled first, before the chart of accounts.
• It is not one-to-one with IFRS, and scope is a fact-specific auditor judgement. This is not accounting advice; the criteria are read from the standard.

What ASC 350-60 is

ASC 350-60 is the US GAAP sub-topic created by FASB ASU 2023-08 that requires in-scope crypto to be measured at fair value with changes in net income, replacing the prior cost-less-impairment intangible model for those assets. It does not change everything labelled "crypto" — it applies only to assets meeting the sub-topic's scope criteria. The scope question is the threshold and an auditor judgement against the standard.

It does not cover every digital asset

These continue under other guidance. The precise criteria are in the standard and applied to the specific asset with the auditor — not restated here as a definitive checklist (anti-fabrication discipline).

Broadly, what is in scope

High-level shape (not the operative text): in-scope crypto is generally a fungible digital asset meeting the intangible-asset definition, residing on and cryptographically secured on a distributed ledger/blockchain, giving no enforceable rights to/claims on underlying goods/services, and not created/issued by the reporting entity or its related parties. This indicates the shape of the scope — the operative criteria are in ASC 350-60, and the determination is an auditor judgement.

Why scope is decisive

It decides the entire accounting outcome: in-scope crypto is fair value through net income with the 2026 FASB taxonomy separate balance-sheet line; out-of-scope digital assets remain under other guidance (e.g. cost-less-impairment intangible — see impairment vs fair value). The same balance sheet looks very different depending on the conclusion — so scope is settled first, before the chart of accounts, and auditor-confirmed. Assuming everything "crypto" is fair value is a frequent error.

Relation to IFRS

Not 1:1. ASC 350-60 is US GAAP-specific; IFRS has no identical sub-topic and typically accounts for crypto as an intangible (IAS 38 cost/revaluation**)** or inventory (IAS 2), with IFRS 13 governing any fair-value measurement (see crypto CoA GAAP/IFRS mapping). A dual-reporting entity applies ASC 350-60 for US GAAP and the relevant IFRS standards separately — both auditor-confirmed.

Practical guidance

1. Answer the scope question first — not everything "crypto" is ASC 350-60.
2. Screen out NFTs, rights-bearing tokens, self-issued, (facts) wrapped — generally out.
3. Read the operative criteria from ASC 350-60 with the auditor — no assumed checklist.
4. Recognise scope decides the outcome (FV-through-NI + separate line vs other guidance).
5. Apply ASC 350-60 and IFRS separately if dual-reporting — not 1:1.
6. Confirm the scope determination with your auditor — fact-specific; not accounting advice.

Choosing a tool for scope-driven treatment

Because the same chart of accounts can hold in-scope and out-of-scope digital assets, the subledger has to record scope per asset and apply the matching treatment. If you are evaluating one — Cryptio and Bitwave can apply fair-value or other treatment once scope is set — confirm it can:

• flag the in-scope or out-of-scope status per asset, rather than treating everything labelled "crypto" as fair value;
• apply fair value through net income to in-scope assets and the relevant other guidance to the rest;
• record the per-asset attributes (fungibility, rights, self-issuance) that informed the scope flag;
• keep an audit trail and ERP export behind each treatment.

The tool applies the treatment; whether an asset is within ASC 350-60 is an auditor judgement against the standard.

How Wag3s fits in

Wag3s Ledger records per-asset attributes and lets the ASC 350-60 in-scope versus out-of-scope treatment be applied and evidenced with an audit trail and ERP export. Whether a specific asset is within ASC 350-60 is fact-specific and stays an auditor judgement against the standard; Ledger supplies the per-asset attributes, figures, and trail that support it. See the Ledger product page.

Further reading

• FASB ASU 2023-08 Crypto Fair Value
• Crypto Impairment vs Fair Value Accounting
• Crypto Asset Account Classification
• Crypto CoA: GAAP and IFRS Mapping
• NFT Accounting (Corporate)
• Crypto Chart of Accounts Design

Sources

• FASB — Accounting Standards Update 2023-08, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other—Crypto Assets (Subtopic 350-60): the standard that created ASC 350-60, the operative scope criteria, the fair-value-through-net-income measurement for in-scope crypto, the separate balance-sheet presentation, and the assets that fall outside scope (NFTs, tokens conveying enforceable rights or claims to underlying goods or services, self-issued tokens, and, depending on the facts, certain wrapped tokens). Scope is a fact-specific auditor judgement read from the standard.
• IFRS — IAS 38 Intangible Assets, IAS 2 Inventories, and IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement: the IFRS standards that account for crypto, which do not map one-to-one onto ASC 350-60. This is not accounting advice.