1、Accounting for Cryptocurrencies加密加密货币的会计核算方法货币的会计核算方法What is the issue?A cryptocurrency refers to a form of exchange that does not exist in physical form but only digitally. It is not linked to any physical currency, nor is it backed by any government, central bank, legal entity, underlying asset or

2、 commodity. However, it is often quoted in an exchange against other currencies. The most commonly known example of a cryptocurrency is the Bitcoin.Cryptocurrencies have been developed as a product of the blockchaintechnology and has gained much popularity. It is now used as a means to make payments

3、 for goods and services, to incentivize employees as well as simply held for investment purposes (legality-permitting or not). Since its introduction and especially in recent years, transaction volume has grown exponentially albeit also experiencing significant volatility in value. Cryptocurrencies

4、are initially mined but could subsequently be bought, exchanged, awarded, or granted. It undoubtedly meets the definition of an asset. Mining cryptocurrencies is a specialized activity and the accounting for such activities warrant further research. This paper discusses how cryptocurrencies could be

5、 accounted for from the non-miner-holders perspective. There are a number of potential options to account for them and each option will be discussed in brief, and/or dismissed, below, recognizing the fact that diversity has already emerged in practice.1什么是加密货币什么是加密货币？加密货币是一种可用作交易且无实物形态的交易媒体。加密货币既不与任

6、何实际货币挂钩，亦不由任何政府、央行、法律实体、基础资产或商品提供担保。然而，加密货币通常以兑换其他货币的形式进行标价。目前，“比特币”是最广为所知的加密货币。加密货币是发展区块链技术而延伸的产物，并越来越广受关注。如今，哪怕其合法性仍有待商榷，加密货币已被用于支付商品及服务、作为激励员工的赠与或作为投资工具而持有。自其问世以来，尤其是最近几年，尽管其价值经历了大幅波动，加密货币的交易量得到了指数级的增长。加密货币只能通过计算机“挖矿”生成，这过程由“矿工”操作，一旦生成，随后即可通过购买、交换、奖励或授予等其他方式取得。毫无疑问，加密货币符合资产的定义。加密货币的挖矿属于专业化业务，其核算亟