What is a Crypto Accounting Firm? What They Do & Why They Matter
The digital asset industry is evolving rapidly, presenting unique financial, regulatory, and operational challenges. As a result, traditional accounting firms often struggle to meet the specialized needs of crypto businesses. This is where crypto accounting firms like The Network Firm fill a gap in the market.
If you're a business leader navigating the complexities of crypto accounting, a CPA looking to future-proof your career, or a student exploring professional opportunities in digital assets, understanding the role of crypto accounting firms is essential.
With these market shifts, expectations for financial transparency and operational rigor are higher than ever—especially for crypto startups. As a crypto founder or CFO, it's essential to establish sound financial practices early to meet these evolving standards.
By the end of this article, you'll learn:
What defines a crypto accounting firm
What services do crypto accounting firms provide
The biggest differences between traditional accounting firms and crypto accounting firms
How crypto accounting firms play a role in the crypto industry’s overall success
What is a Crypto Accounting Firm?
A crypto accounting firm is a specialized accounting practice dedicated to businesses, institutions, and individuals involved in cryptocurrency and digital assets. Unlike traditional firms that serve a broad range of industries, these firms focus on solving the accounting, reporting, compliance, and audit challenges specific to the crypto space.
Defining Characteristics of a Crypto Accounting Firm
1. Industry Specialization
While traditional firms prioritize breadth, crypto accounting firms prioritize depth of expertise in blockchain, DeFi, NFTs, and tokenized assets.
They understand complex topics like liquidity pools, bridging, MEV, rebasing, and multi-signature custody solutions—areas where traditional firms often fall short.
2. Licensing
Some crypto accounting firms are Certified Public Accounting (CPA) or Chartered Accountancy firms, which allows them to perform financial audits, tax filings, and attestations.
Others operate as specialized advisory firms, offering consulting services without formal CPA licensing.
3. Crypto-Native Tools & Knowledge
Unlike traditional firms that rely on outdated financial software, crypto accounting firms use blockchain-native tools to track, reconcile, and audit digital assets.
They understand complex topics like liquidity pools, bridging, MEV, rebasing, and multi-signature custody solutions—areas where traditional firms often fall short.
4. Commitment to the Industry
Traditional firms often engage with crypto only during bull markets and retreat during bear markets due to perceived risks.
Crypto accounting firms remain dedicated through all market conditions, ensuring long-term support for clients.
Services Provided by Crypto Accounting Firms
Think of a crypto accounting firm as a GPS for navigating the uncharted waters of blockchain finance. Without proper guidance, businesses can face regulatory pitfalls, compliance failures, or financial mismanagement.
1. Accounting Services
Bookkeeping & Financial Operations – Managing financial records, accounts payable, and other business transactions.
Budgeting & Forecasting – Helping crypto companies plan, measure key performance indicators, and allocate resources effectively.
CFO Advisory & Special Projects – Providing part-time CFO services or specialized financial consulting.
2. Audit & Assurance Services
Financial Statement Audits – Conducting audits tailored to crypto businesses, ensuring compliance with financial reporting standards like GAAP and IFRS.
SOC Audits & Internal Control Reviews – Evaluating and issuing attestations reports over operational and security controls related in crypto product and token operations.
Stablecoin Reserve Attestations – Verifying reserve holdings and issuing attestation for stablecoin issuers to enhance transparency and investor trust.
Proof of Reserves – Conducting blockchain-native attestation engagements for exchanges to prove custody of customer assets, for stablecoin issuers to prove custody of sufficient fiat reserves, and ETF managers to prove sufficient crypto holdings to back the securities issued.
3. Advisory & Compliance Services
Regulatory Readiness & Licensing Support – Supporting crypto businesses in obtaining necessary financial licenses to expand their business.
Subledger & On-Chain Transaction Tracking – Implementing digital asset accounting solutions and ongoing management of such systems like CryptoWorth and CryptoTaxCalculator.
Business Process Optimization – Streamlining internal operations for more efficient financial management, such as the financial statement close process.
M&A and Financing Due Diligence – Consulting with business buyers or sellers to support an efficient due diligence process, especially where crypto assets form a part of the company balance sheet or custody operations.
4. Tax & Compliance Services
Crypto Basis Tracking & Reporting – Supporting clients with complex crypto transaction tracking, tax basis inventory and reconciliations for portfolio management and tax estimates and compliance filings.
Crypto Tax Return Preparation – Filing taxes for individuals and businesses with crypto assets.
Tax Strategy & Optimization – Advising on tax positions, deductions, and credits for crypto-related activities.
On-Chain Tax Analysis – Identifying taxable events and ensuring compliance with evolving regulations.
How Crypto Accounting Firms Differ from Traditional Firms
Traditional Firms vs. Crypto Accounting Firms
| Attribute | Traditional Accounting Firms | Crypto Accounting Firms |
|---|---|---|
| Approach to Crypto | Limit exposure or avoid crypto-companies altogether. | Built specifically for digital asset clients. |
| Execution Speed | Slow, bureaucractic process for onboarding and client acceptance. | Nimble and streamlined onboarding due to a deep understanding of relevant risks. |
| Crypto Tooling | Lack external or internally-developed tooling. | Tooled with LedgerLens and/or crypto-accounting subledgers. Run blockchain nodes. |
| Specialized Knowledge | Lack industry-specific knowledge. | Deep understanding of the technicals, including consensus mechanisms, liquidity pools impermanent loss, bridging, forks, and more.. |
| Philsophical Alignment | A hearsay understanding of bitcoin and blockchains. | A deep understanding of the history and goals of the industry, from Satoshi, to colored coins, to the BlockSize Wars, to ICOs, to memecoins, and now to Wall Street |
| Market Approach | Local, regional or nation clients. | Internal client base, remote-first workforce to mirror a borderless and global industry. |
| Services | "Traditional Services" like tax, audit and accounting. | Traditional services, along with industry-native services like Proof of Reserves and DAO foundation services. |
Most legacy firms struggle with even the basics of crypto accounting—let alone DeFi tax strategies, accounting for assets with limited market data such as NFTs, or conducting Proof of Reserves engagements. The application of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles to digital assets often presents a “square peg in a round hole” problem, so crypto accounting firms that know how to apply best practices to meet GAAP financial reporting requirements can save costs and provide investors the insights they expect.
Crypto accounting firms embrace innovation while maintaining the rigorous compliance and reporting standards needed to establish trust.
1. Managing Risk in an Uncertain Industry
Traditional firms often see crypto as too risky, engaging only when market conditions are favorable. Crypto accounting firms, however, can effectively mitigate risks through reliance on expert staff, proven crypto-specific approaches, and use of specialized tools like LedgerLens to ensure accurate results. Additionally, during tough times like FTX when many crypto-companies had their accountants and auditors disengage on short notice, crypto accounting firms are much less likely to do so due to industry alignment and understanding of risks.
2. Deep Industry Knowledge
Many traditional accounting firms market services to the crypto industry, but may have just one (or a couple) staff that understand the basics of crypto and digital assets. You may even see some firms that still think private “Enterprise Blockchains” are still relevant. Maybe a few people at the traditional firm have actually transacted in Bitcoin. However, clients in the digital assets space truly require CPAs and consultants that are a step ahead of them, or at least only one step behind them.
Moreover, crypto accounting firms who’s staff understand the historical and philosophical context of crypto, are informed and deliberate in their approach to the industry; when your crypto accounting firm is a true student of the industry, they can offer you outsized value.
3. Global Market Focus
Crypto firms operate in a borderless economy, requiring accountants who understand global regulations and cross-border transactions.
Many crypto accounting firms operate with remote teams across multiple countries, allowing them to serve clients worldwide.
They also may accept crypto payments, making financial interactions seamless for Web3-native businesses.
4. Offering Unique, Crypto-Specific Services
Unlike traditional firms, crypto accounting firms provide specialized services such as:
Proof of Reserves – A crypto-native attestation engagement focused on verifying asset holdings of exchanges, ETFs, or stablecoins, and providing users transparency they wouldn’t otherwise receive.
Real-Time Proof of Reserves – a tech-enabled attestation service that can bring real-time attestation reporting, downloadable by users, to Stablecoin Issuers, RWA Issuers, and ETF Issuers.
On-Chain Oracle Solutions – Such as the On-Chain Proof of Reserves services offered by The Network Firm (providing high-availability endpoint for RWA Token Balance Data to Decentralized Oracle Networks such as Chainlink).
DAO & Foundation Accounting – Managing financial reporting for decentralized organizations.
Who Needs a Crypto Accounting Firm?
1. Crypto-Native Businesses
Exchanges, miners, and staking providers
DAOs and on-chain organizations
Market makers and OTC trading desks
Web3 startups and NFT projects
2. Investors & High-Net-Worth Individuals
Retail and institutional investors managing large crypto portfolios.
Individuals need crypto tax reporting and compliance support.
Funds, family offices, and HNW individuals that require portfolio insights.
3. Traditional Finance (TradFi) Institutions Entering Crypto
Banks and asset managers exploring the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA Issuers).
Corporations adopting Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset.
4. Governments & Regulators
Public agencies establishing crypto tax policies and compliance frameworks.
Financial authorities regulating stablecoins, DeFi, and tokenized securities.
Why Are Crypto Accounting Firms Essential?
1. Bridging the Gap Between TradFi & Crypto
Crypto accounting firms help businesses:
Comply with evolving regulations in jurisdictions worldwide.
Develop financial reporting frameworks that align with blockchain-native models.
2. Enabling Crypto Companies to Succeed
Proper audits and compliance reports allow crypto companies to secure funding and scale operations.
Strong financial reporting builds trust with investors, regulators, and users.
3. Innovating the Future of Accounting
Crypto accounting firms pioneer transparency solutions, such as on-chain proof of reserves.
They redefine financial reporting by integrating blockchain technology into traditional CPA services.
The Future of Crypto Accounting
As the financial system evolves, crypto accounting firms play a critical role in shaping the industry's transparency, trust, and compliance. Whether you're a startup, investor, or established institution, leveraging a crypto-native accounting firm can help take your business to the next level.
For expert guidance, reach out to The Network Firm —the largest and most experienced crypto accounting firm. Schedule a free consultation today!
Noah Buxton, CEO
Author Bio:
Noah has more than 15 years of attest, legal, IT and regulatory compliance experience. Noah sets the strategy and oversees execution of strategy at The Network Firm. While Noah advises public blockchain and virtual currency clients on myriad industry-specific issues, his expertise lies in licensing, IT & Security matters as well as attest and assurance reporting for Exchanges, Asset-backed token issuers, lenders and blockchain and cryptocurrency startups.
Noah is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants (FICPA), and a former member of the California Bar Association and International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). Noah has served in active roles for working groups with the AICPA and Chamber of Digital Commerce (CODC) since 2018 and hods a current seat on the Steering Committee for C4’s Cryptocurrency Security Standard (CCSS).
Connect with Noah Buxton on LinkedIn/Twitter for more expert advice.