The accounting of crypto assets owned by individuals or legal entities domiciled in Brazil

Abstract

Crypto-assets are a digital representation of value, the best known of which is the cryptocurrency bitcoin. The differential is that they can be transferred, bought and sold without the need for intermediation, authentication and verification by a third-party using encryption technology. Such assets are increasingly popular and raise questions about their accounting due to the absence of regulatory law on the subject in Brazil. The main objective of this work is to identify how the accounting of crypto-assets owned by individuals or companies domiciled in Brazil should be done, based on updated bibliography, in order to help those responsible for financial statements and individuals. This research qualifies as to its nature as applied research, with an exploratory research objective and with a bibliographical survey procedure. The concepts of cryptoactive and blockchain are presented and their use in the world and in Brazil is contextualized. We verify which are the existing obligations for owners of cryptoactive assets, individuals or companies, domiciled in Brazil. Finally, we demonstrate how cryptoactive assets should be accounted for in Brazil based on the available norms and guidelines. The result of the research is that cryptoactive assets must be classified as an asset, part of the legal entity's equity, according to the entity's business model, and must be declared by the individual who owns them in their Annual Individual Income Tax Return as "Assets and Rights".