MMBA, MM Blockchain Academy, has recently partnered with COCPA to provide blockchain CPE courses and accredited certifications to its members. This article is the first of a series of upcoming pieces on the importance of understanding blockchain technology and digital assets for today's accountants and CPAs.

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Colorado CPAs are navigating blockchain questions from clients, employers, and business owners with increasing frequency. This article is written for COCPA members who want a practical, accounting-focused introduction to what blockchain is, where it is showing up in practice, and what getting up to speed actually looks like.

A client asks how to report a cryptocurrency transaction. An employer wonders whether anyone on the accounting team understands blockchain. A business owner wants to know whether digital assets should be reflected in the company’s financial statements.

For many CPAs, these conversations are happening before they feel fully prepared to answer them. Blockchain is no longer a niche technology topic. It has become part of the accounting and reporting environment, and understanding the basics is increasingly a professional necessity rather than a specialized skill.

What Blockchain Actually Is (in Accounting Terms)

At its core, blockchain is a ledger. A blockchain is a distributed ledger that records transactions in a way that is transparent, verifiable, and difficult to alter after the fact.

CPAs already understand the importance of reliable recordkeeping. Traditional accounting systems rely on internal controls, reconciliations, and third-party verification to establish trust. Blockchain introduces a different approach: a network of participants collectively verifies and maintains the transaction record.

Some accounting professionals describe this as an evolution toward “triple-entry accounting.” In addition to the debit and credit entries recorded by each party, a cryptographically verified record exists on the blockchain itself. It does not replace double-entry accounting; it adds an independent layer of verification that many accountants immediately recognize as valuable.

I often tell fellow CPAs that blockchain is an accounting system, and we are accountants. For CPAs, it is fundamentally a new way of recording, verifying, and tracing economic activity.

Why It Matters: The Plumbing of Finance Is Changing

BlackRock Chairman Larry Fink recently described tokenization as a transformation of the “plumbing of finance.” For accountants, that analogy is particularly useful.

Historically, accounting professionals have relied on bank statements, brokerage reports, and custodian records to trace and verify economic activity. Increasingly, those transactions are occurring on blockchain networks. Instead of relying exclusively on statements from financial institutions, accountants may need to verify activity directly on a blockchain using publicly available records and blockchain explorers.

This shift extends well beyond cryptocurrency. Tokenization is increasingly being explored for stocks, bonds, private investments, and real estate interests. Over the past decade, I have seen blockchain evolve from a niche client issue into a recurring topic in tax, accounting, and advisory conversations.

Where It’s Showing Up in Practice Right Now

Blockchain is already affecting CPA work in several practical ways.

First, digital asset accounting has become more relevant with the implementation of FASB ASC 350-60. Organizations holding qualifying digital assets must now apply updated measurement, presentation, and disclosure requirements. CPAs across public accounting, industry, and nonprofit practice increasingly need a working understanding of how these assets are reported.

Second, tax reporting continues to expand. Digital asset questions appear prominently on Form 1040, and Form 1099-DA introduces new reporting obligations that practitioners must understand when advising clients.

Third, blockchain is being adopted outside of cryptocurrency. Organizations are exploring blockchain-based systems for audit trails, supply-chain verification, ownership tracking, and settlement processes. Accountants may encounter blockchain-generated records even when no cryptocurrency is involved.

What “Knowing Blockchain” Looks Like for a CPA

Becoming blockchain-literate does not require becoming a software developer or cryptocurrency expert. Consider the transition from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles. A mechanic trained on traditional engines may be highly skilled, but when a customer pulls in with an EV, the system they were trained on no longer applies.

The same challenge is emerging in accounting. Most accountants have been trained to trace economic activity through records generated by traditional financial institutions. That training remains essential. However, when transactions move on-chain, those familiar records may no longer tell the full story. Accountants will need to analyze transactions directly on a blockchain using specialized tools and explorers.

For CPAs, blockchain competency means understanding how transactions are recorded on-chain, how activity can be traced, what reporting requirements apply, and which tools are available to verify blockchain-based records.

How CPAs Are Getting Up to Speed

Like every major technological shift before it, blockchain is creating new professional development opportunities. The profession successfully adapted to electronic workpapers, cloud accounting systems, data analytics, and XBRL reporting. Blockchain represents another evolution in how financial information is created, recorded, and verified.

Many CPAs are pursuing structured education focused on accounting applications rather than technology theory. Programs such as the Certified Blockchain Accounting Professional (CBAP)™ credential were developed by CPAs to help accounting professionals build practical knowledge of blockchain, digital assets, and related reporting requirements.

Accountants do not need to become blockchain specialists overnight. They simply need to begin developing familiarity with a technology that is increasingly becoming part of the profession’s everyday landscape. The questions are already arriving. The opportunity is to be ready with informed answers.

MMBA has partnered with the COCPA to offer members education and certification in blockchain for accounting at a greatly reduced rate. Learn more at mmba.io, or access resources specifically for COCPA members, including discounts, here.

About the Author

John Masotti, CPA, is a Co-Founder of MMBA, MM Blockchain Academy, an ed tech company developed by CPAs to help accounting and finance professionals build practical blockchain knowledge. He is also the Managing Partner of Masotti & Masotti, LLC, a CPA firm founded in 1960.