SACF-03 — Accounting & Measurement: how should a company account for stablecoins?
Updated: 24 hours ago
RESEARCH & INTELLIGENCE • SACF 2026
BECTRA SACF — Stablecoin Accounting & Control Framework • Pillar 3 of 7 • Accounting & Measurement
01 Classification → 02 Purpose & Exposure → 03 Accounting & Measurement → 04 Ownership & Evidence → 05 Counterparty & Infrastructure → 06 Governance & Control → 07 Reconciliation & Reporting
How should the stablecoin be accounted for and measured?
A stablecoin should not be accounted for solely from its commercial name, ticker or displayed peg. The order of analysis matters: classify the asset, identify the rights, document the purpose, determine the accounting treatment, then measure at period end.
SACF CONNECTION — Accounting treatment cannot be determined from the ticker alone. The token, issuer and attached rights must first be classified. SACF-01 explores this point in greater detail.
SACF PRINCIPLE — Accounting starts with economic and legal substance, not with the ticker.
1. Start from SACF-01 and SACF-02
SACF-01 establishes the token, issuer, rights and infrastructure. SACF-02 documents the holding purpose. Those facts feed the accounting analysis: the same technology may lead to different treatments depending on the rights represented and documented use.
2. Distinguish the accounting paths
French ANC Regulation 2026-01, adopted on 9 January 2026, sets different logics depending on the crypto-asset. Financial-characteristic crypto-assets follow the relevant financial rules; MiCA e-money tokens are directed to account 513 with period-end measurement under Article 420-7. Other crypto-assets representing rights and intended for business use follow the accounting for those underlying rights. Other crypto-assets, or those whose use is not yet determined, are directed to account 522.
SACF CONNECTION — A measurement method is only operational at period end if the valued position can be reconciled to wallets, movements and accounting records. SACF-07 explores this point in greater detail.
SACF RULE — The same token may lead to a different accounting treatment when documented use and the analysed rights differ.
3. Document initial measurement
The file should connect quantity acquired, consideration paid, identifiable fees, FX rate where the reference currency differs from the functional currency, and the date used. Transfers between wallets of the same legal entity should not be confused with new acquisitions.
4. Separate token peg from FX risk
A stablecoin may remain close to USD 1 while still creating a conversion difference for an entity whose functional currency is euro. Stability against the token's reference currency does not eliminate FX accounting.
5. Make period-end valuation reproducible
The method should specify source, time, trading pair, treatment of price differences across venues and coherence controls. Where Article 619-12 applies to account 522, fair value or valeur vénale is determined from the latest reliable information available at period end.
6. Build the period-end file
The file should retain the classification conclusion, documented purpose, selected method, valuation data, FX rates, entries, controls and approvals. It should be clear enough for an independent reviewer to understand the conclusion without rebuilding the reasoning from scratch.
REGULATORY WATCHPOINT — French ANC Regulation No. 2026-01 was approved by an order dated 12 August 2026, published in the French Official Journal on 3 September 2026. It is mandatory for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2027 and may be applied early under the conditions set out in Article 6.
SACF CONNECTION — 01 Classification → 02 Purpose & Exposure → 03 Accounting & Measurement → 04 Ownership & Evidence. A robust accounting conclusion must then be connected to evidence of ownership and control.
Sources
Continue through the BECTRA SACF framework
To extend this analysis, the following pillars are the most directly connected to the issues addressed in this article.
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