The U.S. Financial Accounting Services Board (FASB) has passed a unanimous vote to drastically change the way crypto asset values are recorded on publicly traded companies’ balance sheets.

Experts predict the change will make crypto more attractive to hold by exposing big investors to the upside potential of their assets.

How FASB’s Change Impacts Crypto

On Wednesday, the Board held a meeting to evaluate comments on the proposed change, which would have crypto assets marked at fair value in companies’ accounting statements.

Under current rules, crypto assets are treated as intangible assets, The model has companies record their crypto values at the historical prices they paid for them, while regularly reassessing their assets for feeless “impairment” charges if these values decline.

When asset prices rebound, companies cannot revise values upwards. That means if crypto prices plummet even briefly during a given quarter, businesses must log the full decline as an impairment in their quarterly report.

While this model makes more sense for items like trademarks, copyrights, and brands, it is less rational for assets like Bitcoin (BTC), which are highly liquid, regularly traded, and have a readily available market price.

As noted by respondents to the 2021 FASB Invitation to Comment (ITC), neglecting crypto asset gains on a company’s balance sheet “does not provide investors, lenders, creditors, and other allocators of capital with decision-useful information.”

FASB member Christine Botosan told