How much bitcoin do publicly-traded companies currently have on their balance sheets? Is the information available online? If so, where can it be found?
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3my guess is zero. in total.– AganjuCommented Feb 7, 2018 at 0:42
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Are there any updates on this? Aganju is guessing that companies don't have any bitcoin on their balance sheets while RonJon is saying the bitcoin gets reported as cash. Is the new International Accounting Standards Board standard mentioned by ApplePie available now? With all the talk of bitcoin in the news everyday, I'd be surprised if companies don't report their bitcoin to shareholders.– user76355Commented May 25, 2018 at 17:03
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As of Apr 28 2021 it appears Tesla had $2.5 billion of it - cnbc.com/2021/04/28/… - why can't they specify it as BTC rather than USD..– cardamomCommented Nov 12, 2021 at 22:07
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This website provides the Bitcoin treasuries of companies : bitcointreasuries.net– leslieCommented Jan 10 at 14:45
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2 Answers
If a public company accepts bitcoin, it would be recorded on it's balance sheet as Cash. You might be able to discover the amount by getting lists of companies that accept Btc and then looking it up in their annual (10-K) and quarterly (8-Q) reports on EDGAR (https://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html).
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1accepting bitcoin would be different than owning bitcoin as a capital investment or as use in inventory in a project where the bitcoin is fuel for a computational process, and so would likely be in different places on the sheet if recorded at all.– CQMCommented Feb 7, 2018 at 2:06
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@CQM correct. Given it's price volatility, I'm dubious that in Jan 2018 many companies own Btc as a capital investment or as use in inventory in a project. But they do accept it as payment, acting as Cash in a volatile foreign currency.– RonJohnCommented Feb 7, 2018 at 2:09
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3"If a public company accepts bitcoin, it would be recorded on it's balance sheet as Cash." Can you give a reference to verify that this is an accepted accounting practice? For instance, a business could accept chickens in payment, but surely would not list chickens as "cash". Commented Feb 7, 2018 at 2:49
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1@RonJohn I would definitely like a source on that claim that Bitcoin would be used as cash. The International Accounting Standards Board is working on a project standard on cryptocurrencies but it is not out yet so I am unsure where you obtained this info.– ApplePieCommented Feb 7, 2018 at 12:22
the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) says
cryptocurrencies cannot be considered equivalent to cash (currency) as defined in IAS 7 and IAS 32 because they cannot readily be exchanged for any good or service. Although an increasing number of entities are accepting digital currencies as payment, digital currencies are not yet widely accepted as a medium of exchange and do not represent legal tender.
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digital currencies do appear to meet the definition of an intangible asset in accordance with IAS 38, Intangible Assets. This standard defines an intangible asset as an identifiable non-monetary asset without physical substance.
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cryptocurrency is subject to major variations in value and therefore it is non-monetary in nature. Cryptocurrencies are a form of digital money and do not have physical substance. Therefore, the most appropriate classification is as an intangible asset.
Note: I have chopped out a few short quotations from a longer article. If you find anything surprising, you should read the full article for proper context.
So a Bitcoin holding in a business that follows the accounting rules mentioned by ACCA would show up as part of intangible assets in published accounts. It might not be separated out.
answered Dec 11, 2023 at 11:30
