Crypto cost-basis methods
The method you use to value disposals changes your gains — and most jurisdictions mandate a specific one. Get it wrong across thousands of transactions and you've got the wrong numbers and an audit problem. CryptaCount supports the full range of methods and applies the treatment your jurisdiction requires automatically.
Why the method matters
A gain is proceeds minus cost basis — but *which* units you're deemed to have sold depends on the method. FIFO, average cost, and highest-in-first-out can produce very different results from the same trades, and the gap compounds across a real portfolio. On top of that, your jurisdiction usually doesn't leave it to preference: the UK requires pooling, Canada requires an adjusted cost base, the US now expects wallet-by-wallet. Using the wrong basis isn't a style choice — it's a filing error.
The methods CryptaCount supports
Choose the method that fits your accounting policy — 12 disposal methods in all:
- FIFO — oldest lots first
- LIFO — newest lots first
- HIFO — highest-cost lots first (minimises gain)
- LOFO — lowest-cost lots first
- Weighted average — averaged cost across your holdings
- Moving average and total average — running or period averages (as used in jurisdictions like Japan and Austria)
- Specific identification — you select the exact lots disposed
- Wallet-by-wallet — lots tracked per wallet, aligned to US Rev. Proc. 2024-28
Plus specialist treatments — including net-realisable-value and fair-market-value handling for internal transfers — for the accounting situations that need them.
Jurisdiction-correct by default
This is the part that keeps you compliant: you set your jurisdiction, and CryptaCount applies the treatment that jurisdiction mandates — automatically. Your chosen method applies; jurisdiction-mandated treatments apply automatically. You don't have to know which method a country requires, and you can't accidentally file on the wrong basis:
- United Kingdom — Section 104 pooling, with same-day and 30-day matching
- Canada — Adjusted Cost Base (ACB)
- France — the portfolio-wide method behind the *flat tax* (PFU)
- United States — wallet-by-wallet basis (Rev. Proc. 2024-28)
- Netherlands — the Box 3 deemed-return basis
- Japan — moving or total average
…and the correct treatment across 70+ jurisdictions. Where a country mandates a method, CryptaCount uses it — these aren't dropdown choices you're left to get right on your own.
Consistent, audit-ready, standards-aware
- Applied consistently across every exchange and wallet you connect — one basis, not a patchwork
- Works with your accounting standard — historical cost or fair value, under IFRS or US GAAP, including impairment under IAS 36, IAS 2, or fair-value measurement (ASU 2023-08)
- Fully traceable — every gain ties back to the underlying lots and transactions, with a tamper-evident trail for your auditors
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FAQ
Twelve disposal methods — FIFO, LIFO, HIFO, LOFO, weighted average, moving and total average, specific identification, and wallet-by-wallet — plus specialist net-realisable-value and fair-market-value treatments. The methods available scale with your plan.
Yes. Where a jurisdiction mandates a treatment — Section 104 pooling for the UK, ACB for Canada, the portfolio method for France, wallet-by-wallet for the US — CryptaCount applies it automatically once you set your jurisdiction.
Yes, for the selectable methods (FIFO, LIFO, HIFO, LOFO, average, specific ID, wallet-by-wallet). For jurisdictions that mandate a specific treatment, that treatment is applied automatically so your filing is correct.
Yes. One basis is applied across every connected exchange and wallet, so your numbers are coherent and defensible.
Yes — historical cost or fair value, under IFRS or US GAAP, with impairment options including IAS 36, IAS 2, and fair-value measurement (ASU 2023-08).