An Analysis of the Internal Consistency of the New Accounting Standard for Virtual Currencies in Generally Accepted Japanese Accounting Principles: A Virtual Currency User Perspective

While there is no specific guidance in IFRS or US GAAP on accounting for virtual currencies, the ASBJ issued the PITF on the Accounting for Virtual Currencies under the PSA on March 14, 2018 as part of J-GAAP. The standard subscribes that, if an active market exists for the virtual currency, such a virtual currency should be measured using the market price at the balance sheet date, and any difference between the carrying amount should be recognized as a gain or loss. This article examines logically the internal consistency of the accounting information of virtual currencies subscribed by the standard in J-GAAP and between the standard and IFRS. The results indicated that it is appropriate to present virtual currencies at the recoverable amount as in the case of other monetary assets in J-GAAP and that there are no significant differences internationally between the standard and the IFRS.