This guide provides practical Beancount templates and real-world examples for common cryptocurrency scenarios. Copy and adapt these templates for your own crypto accounting needs.
How to read these blocks
Every fenced block below is one of three things, and they are not interchangeable:
- Templates contain
[BRACKETED]placeholders andYYYY-MM-DDdates. They will not load until you substitute real values — the brackets are not Beancount syntax. - Examples sit directly under their template, carry real dates and amounts, and are written to load. Each one still needs the accounts it touches to be open, which is what the Account Structure Template below is for. The one exception is the reconciliation block, which asserts balances only your own ledger can satisfy.
- The Flash Loan Arbitrage block is pseudocode, and is labelled as such where it appears.
Two conventions run through all of them:
- Income accounts hold credits, so they are negative. A realized gain is a negative posting to
Income:CapitalGains:…; a realized loss is a positive posting toExpenses:CapitalLoss:…. Getting this backwards is the single most common way a crypto entry fails to balance. - A fee is recorded once as an expense and once as a reduction in cash. Gross proceeds go to the cash account, the fee comes back out of it, and the difference is what actually lands in your account.
Explore a live cryptocurrency example ledger:
Basic Setup Template
Account Structure Template
; =============================================================================
; CRYPTOCURRENCY ACCOUNT SETUP TEMPLATE
; =============================================================================
; Bank Accounts
1970-01-01 open Assets:Checking
; Exchange Accounts
1970-01-01 open Assets:Crypto:Coinbase:USD
1970-01-01 open Assets:Crypto:Coinbase:BTC
1970-01-01 open Assets:Crypto:Coinbase:ETH
1970-01-01 open Assets:Crypto:Binance:USD
1970-01-01 open Assets:Crypto:Binance:BTC
1970-01-01 open Assets:Crypto:Binance:ETH
1970-01-01 open Assets:Crypto:Binance:BNB
1970-01-01 open Assets:Crypto:Binance:ADA
; On-Chain and Mining Accounts
1970-01-01 open Assets:Crypto:Ethereum:ETH
1970-01-01 open Assets:Crypto:Polygon:ETH
1970-01-01 open Assets:Crypto:Mining:BTC
; Wallet Accounts
1970-01-01 open Assets:Crypto:Wallet:Ledger:BTC
1970-01-01 open Assets:Crypto:Wallet:Ledger:ETH
1970-01-01 open Assets:Crypto:Wallet:MetaMask:ETH
1970-01-01 open Assets:Crypto:Wallet:MetaMask:USDC
1970-01-01 open Assets:Crypto:Wallet:MetaMask:UNI
; DeFi Protocol Accounts
1970-01-01 open Assets:DeFi:Uniswap:ETH-USDC-LP
1970-01-01 open Assets:DeFi:Compound:CUSDC
1970-01-01 open Assets:Staking:Ethereum:ETH
; Income Accounts
1970-01-01 open Income:Crypto:Staking:ETH
1970-01-01 open Income:Crypto:Mining:BTC
1970-01-01 open Income:Crypto:Airdrops
1970-01-01 open Income:Crypto:DeFi:Yield
1970-01-01 open Income:CapitalGains:Crypto
1970-01-01 open Income:CapitalGains:LongTerm
; Expense Accounts
1970-01-01 open Expenses:Crypto:Fees:Trading
1970-01-01 open Expenses:Crypto:Fees:Network
1970-01-01 open Expenses:Crypto:Fees:Withdrawal
1970-01-01 open Expenses:Crypto:Bridge:Fees
1970-01-01 open Expenses:Crypto:Mining:Electricity
1970-01-01 open Expenses:CapitalLoss:Crypto
; Commodity Definitions
1970-01-01 commodity BTC
name: "Bitcoin"
asset-class: "cryptocurrency"
1970-01-01 commodity ETH
name: "Ethereum"
asset-class: "cryptocurrency"
1970-01-01 commodity USDC
name: "USD Coin"
asset-class: "stablecoin"
; Compound writes this receipt token "cUSDC", but a Beancount commodity
; and every account component must start with a capital letter or a digit,
; so the ledger spells it CUSDC and keeps the display name in metadata.
1970-01-01 commodity CUSDC
name: "cUSDC (Compound USD Coin)"
asset-class: "defi-receipt"Trading Templates
Basic Cryptocurrency Purchase
; Template: Buy cryptocurrency on exchange
YYYY-MM-DD * "Buy [AMOUNT] [CRYPTO] on [EXCHANGE]"
Assets:Crypto:[EXCHANGE]:[CRYPTO] [AMOUNT] [CRYPTO] {[PRICE] USD}
Assets:Crypto:[EXCHANGE]:USD -[TOTAL_COST] USD
Expenses:Crypto:Fees:Trading [FEE] USD
Assets:Crypto:[EXCHANGE]:USD -[FEE] USD
; Example: Buy 1 BTC on Coinbase
2024-01-15 * "Buy 1 BTC on Coinbase"
Assets:Crypto:Coinbase:BTC 1.0 BTC {45000.00 USD}
Assets:Crypto:Coinbase:USD -45000.00 USD
Expenses:Crypto:Fees:Trading 50.00 USD
Assets:Crypto:Coinbase:USD -50.00 USDCryptocurrency Sale
; Template: Sell cryptocurrency on exchange
YYYY-MM-DD * "Sell [AMOUNT] [CRYPTO] on [EXCHANGE]"
Assets:Crypto:[EXCHANGE]:[CRYPTO] -[AMOUNT] [CRYPTO] {[COST_BASIS] USD} @ [SALE_PRICE] USD
Assets:Crypto:[EXCHANGE]:USD [GROSS_PROCEEDS] USD
Expenses:Crypto:Fees:Trading [FEE] USD
Assets:Crypto:[EXCHANGE]:USD -[FEE] USD
Income:CapitalGains:Crypto -[GAIN] USD ; a loss is a positive Expenses:CapitalLoss:Crypto instead
; Example: Sell 0.5 BTC with a gain
2024-03-20 * "Sell 0.5 BTC on Coinbase"
Assets:Crypto:Coinbase:BTC -0.5 BTC {45000.00 USD} @ 48000.00 USD
Assets:Crypto:Coinbase:USD 24000.00 USD ; gross proceeds, 0.5 * 48,000.00
Expenses:Crypto:Fees:Trading 30.00 USD
Assets:Crypto:Coinbase:USD -30.00 USD ; the fee leaves the same cash account
Income:CapitalGains:Crypto -1500.00 USD ; 24,000.00 proceeds - 22,500.00 basisThe disposed lot is worth $22,500.00 at cost, the sale brings in $24,000.00 gross, and $30.00 of that goes to the exchange — so $23,970.00 of cash arrives and $1,500.00 of gain is realized. Do not net the fee into the gain: the fee is already an expense, and subtracting it a second time is what leaves the transaction unbalanced.
Crypto-to-Crypto Trade
; Template: Trade one crypto for another
YYYY-MM-DD * "Trade [AMOUNT1] [CRYPTO1] for [AMOUNT2] [CRYPTO2]"
Assets:Crypto:[EXCHANGE]:[CRYPTO1] -[AMOUNT1] [CRYPTO1] {[COST_BASIS] USD}
Assets:Crypto:[EXCHANGE]:[CRYPTO2] [AMOUNT2] [CRYPTO2] {[NEW_PRICE] USD}
Income:CapitalGains:Crypto -[GAIN] USD ; taxable event; a loss is a positive Expenses:CapitalLoss:Crypto
Expenses:Crypto:Fees:Trading [FEE] USD
Assets:Crypto:[EXCHANGE]:USD -[FEE] USD
; Example: Trade BTC for ETH
2024-02-10 * "Trade 1 BTC for 20 ETH on Binance"
Assets:Crypto:Binance:BTC -1.0 BTC {46000.00 USD}
Assets:Crypto:Binance:ETH 20 ETH {2400.00 USD}
Income:CapitalGains:Crypto -2000.00 USD ; 48,000.00 received - 46,000.00 basis
Expenses:Crypto:Fees:Trading 40.00 USD
Assets:Crypto:Binance:USD -40.00 USDA crypto-to-crypto trade disposes of the first commodity, so it realizes gain exactly like a sale for cash: 20 ETH acquired at $2,400.00 is $48,000.00 of value received against $46,000.00 of BTC basis. The $40.00 fee is paid in cash and does not change the gain.
Transfer Templates
Exchange to Wallet Transfer
; Template: Transfer crypto from exchange to wallet
YYYY-MM-DD * "Transfer [AMOUNT] [CRYPTO] from [EXCHANGE] to [WALLET]"
Assets:Crypto:[EXCHANGE]:[CRYPTO] -[AMOUNT] [CRYPTO] {[COST_BASIS] USD}
Assets:Crypto:Wallet:[WALLET]:[CRYPTO] [AMOUNT] [CRYPTO] {[COST_BASIS] USD}
Expenses:Crypto:Fees:Withdrawal [FEE] [CRYPTO] {[COST_BASIS] USD}
Assets:Crypto:[EXCHANGE]:[CRYPTO] -[FEE] [CRYPTO] {[COST_BASIS] USD}
; Example: Transfer BTC to Ledger
2024-01-20 * "Transfer 1 BTC from Coinbase to Ledger"
Assets:Crypto:Coinbase:BTC -1.0 BTC {45000.00 USD}
Assets:Crypto:Wallet:Ledger:BTC 1.0 BTC {45000.00 USD}
Expenses:Crypto:Fees:Withdrawal 0.0005 BTC {45000.00 USD}
Assets:Crypto:Coinbase:BTC -0.0005 BTC {45000.00 USD}A transfer is not a disposal, so it realizes nothing: the same {45000.00 USD} cost travels with the coins and the receiving account inherits the basis. Two consequences follow. The withdrawal fee is paid in BTC and is expensed at that same cost, so it realizes no gain either — if your treatment says otherwise, price the fee with @ and add a gain posting. And the sending account must already hold 1.0005 BTC at that exact cost, not 1.0, because the fee comes out of the same lot. A reduction with no matching lot fails to book however well the totals add up.
Cross-Exchange Transfer
; Template: Transfer between exchanges
YYYY-MM-DD * "Transfer [AMOUNT] [CRYPTO] from [EXCHANGE1] to [EXCHANGE2]"
Assets:Crypto:[EXCHANGE1]:[CRYPTO] -[AMOUNT] [CRYPTO] {[COST_BASIS] USD}
Assets:Crypto:[EXCHANGE2]:[CRYPTO] [AMOUNT] [CRYPTO] {[COST_BASIS] USD}
Expenses:Crypto:Fees:Network [FEE] [CRYPTO] {[COST_BASIS] USD}
Assets:Crypto:[EXCHANGE1]:[CRYPTO] -[FEE] [CRYPTO] {[COST_BASIS] USD}
; Example: Transfer ETH from Coinbase to Binance
2024-02-05 * "Transfer 10 ETH from Coinbase to Binance"
Assets:Crypto:Coinbase:ETH -10 ETH {2500.00 USD}
Assets:Crypto:Binance:ETH 10 ETH {2500.00 USD}
Expenses:Crypto:Fees:Network 0.01 ETH {2500.00 USD}
Assets:Crypto:Coinbase:ETH -0.01 ETH {2500.00 USD}Staking Templates
Ethereum Staking
; Template: Stake ETH
YYYY-MM-DD * "Stake [AMOUNT] ETH"
Assets:Crypto:Wallet:MetaMask:ETH -[AMOUNT] ETH {[PRICE] USD}
Assets:Staking:Ethereum:ETH [AMOUNT] ETH {[PRICE] USD}
Expenses:Crypto:Fees:Network [FEE] ETH {[PRICE] USD}
Assets:Crypto:Wallet:MetaMask:ETH -[FEE] ETH {[PRICE] USD}
; Example: Stake 32 ETH
2024-01-10 * "Stake 32 ETH on Ethereum 2.0"
Assets:Crypto:Wallet:MetaMask:ETH -32 ETH {2500.00 USD}
Assets:Staking:Ethereum:ETH 32 ETH {2500.00 USD}
Expenses:Crypto:Fees:Network 0.01 ETH {2500.00 USD}
Assets:Crypto:Wallet:MetaMask:ETH -0.01 ETH {2500.00 USD}Staking Rewards
; Template: Receive staking rewards
YYYY-MM-DD * "[CRYPTO] Staking Rewards - [PERIOD]"
Assets:Staking:[PROTOCOL]:[CRYPTO] [AMOUNT] [CRYPTO] {[PRICE] USD}
Income:Crypto:Staking:[CRYPTO] -[VALUE] USD ; [VALUE] = [AMOUNT] * [PRICE]
; Example: ETH staking rewards
2024-02-01 * "ETH Staking Rewards - January"
Assets:Staking:Ethereum:ETH 0.08 ETH {2600.00 USD}
Income:Crypto:Staking:ETH -208.00 USD ; 0.08 * 2,600.00A reward is income received in kind, so the two postings describe the same event from both sides: 0.08 ETH arrives with a $2,600.00-per-unit basis, and the matching $208.00 of income is a credit — negative. The {2,600.00 USD} is an external price you have to source yourself; Beancount records it, it does not fetch it. Note it from the exchange or index you actually use, and keep the same source across the year.
That $208.00 is also the reward's cost basis from here on. When you eventually sell the 0.08 ETH, only the movement since this date is a gain — the $208.00 has already been taxed as income and must not be recognized twice. Whether the income is taxable on receipt or on disposal differs by jurisdiction; the ledger records the facts either way.
DeFi Templates
Uniswap Liquidity Provision
; Template: Add liquidity to Uniswap pool
YYYY-MM-DD * "Add liquidity to [TOKEN1]-[TOKEN2] pool"
Assets:Crypto:Wallet:MetaMask:[TOKEN1] -[AMOUNT1] [TOKEN1] {[PRICE1] USD}
Assets:Crypto:Wallet:MetaMask:[TOKEN2] -[AMOUNT2] [TOKEN2] {[PRICE2] USD}
Assets:DeFi:Uniswap:[TOKEN1]-[TOKEN2]-LP [LP_AMOUNT] [LP_TOKEN] {[LP_PRICE] USD}
Expenses:Crypto:Fees:Network [FEE] ETH {[ETH_PRICE] USD}
Assets:Crypto:Wallet:MetaMask:ETH -[FEE] ETH {[ETH_PRICE] USD}
; Example: Add ETH-USDC liquidity
2024-01-15 * "Add liquidity to ETH-USDC pool"
Assets:Crypto:Wallet:MetaMask:ETH -10 ETH {2500.00 USD}
Assets:Crypto:Wallet:MetaMask:USDC -25000 USDC @ 1.00 USD
Assets:DeFi:Uniswap:ETH-USDC-LP 100 UNI-V3-ETH-USDC {500.00 USD}
Expenses:Crypto:Fees:Network 0.02 ETH {2500.00 USD}
Assets:Crypto:Wallet:MetaMask:ETH -0.02 ETH {2500.00 USD}Reconcile this one commodity at a time: $25,000.00 of ETH plus $25,000.00 of USDC leaves, $50,000.00 of LP token arrives, and the gas fee moves $50.00 of ETH from the wallet into an expense. The stablecoin leg carries @ 1.00 USD because it is held without a cost basis — without the price annotation its weight is 25,000 USDC, which cannot cancel dollars. In many jurisdictions depositing into a pool is itself a disposal of both tokens; this entry deliberately carries basis across instead, so add the gain postings if your treatment requires them.
Compound Lending
; Template: Supply assets to Compound
YYYY-MM-DD * "Supply [AMOUNT] [TOKEN] to Compound"
Assets:Crypto:Wallet:MetaMask:[TOKEN] -[AMOUNT] [TOKEN] @ [TOKEN_PRICE] USD
Assets:DeFi:Compound:C[TOKEN] [C_AMOUNT] C[TOKEN] {[C_PRICE] USD}
Expenses:Crypto:Fees:Network [FEE] ETH {[ETH_PRICE] USD}
Assets:Crypto:Wallet:MetaMask:ETH -[FEE] ETH {[ETH_PRICE] USD}
; Example: Supply USDC to Compound
2024-01-20 * "Supply 10000 USDC to Compound"
Assets:Crypto:Wallet:MetaMask:USDC -10000 USDC @ 1.00 USD
Assets:DeFi:Compound:CUSDC 500 CUSDC {20.00 USD}
Expenses:Crypto:Fees:Network 0.008 ETH {2500.00 USD}
Assets:Crypto:Wallet:MetaMask:ETH -0.008 ETH {2500.00 USD}Two things make this one load. The USDC leg carries @ 1.00 USD so both sides of the swap weigh in the same currency — without it Beancount sees $10,000.00 of CUSDC appearing against 10,000 units of USDC disappearing, which are different commodities and do not cancel. And the receipt token is CUSDC, not cUSDC: a lowercase first letter is a lexer error in both an account component and a commodity symbol, however the protocol spells it in its own interface.
Mining Templates
Mining Rewards
; Template: Receive mining rewards
YYYY-MM-DD * "[CRYPTO] Mining Reward - [POOL/SOLO]"
Assets:Crypto:Mining:[CRYPTO] [AMOUNT] [CRYPTO] {[PRICE] USD}
Income:Crypto:Mining:[CRYPTO] -[VALUE] USD ; [VALUE] = [AMOUNT] * [PRICE]
; Example: Bitcoin mining reward
2024-01-15 * "BTC Mining Reward - Slush Pool"
Assets:Crypto:Mining:BTC 0.01 BTC {45000.00 USD}
Income:Crypto:Mining:BTC -450.00 USD ; 0.01 * 45,000.00Mining Expenses
; Template: Mining operational expenses
YYYY-MM-DD * "Mining [EXPENSE_TYPE] - [PERIOD]"
Expenses:Crypto:Mining:[EXPENSE_TYPE] [AMOUNT] USD
Assets:Checking -[AMOUNT] USD
; Example: Mining electricity costs
2024-01-31 * "Mining Electricity - January"
Expenses:Crypto:Mining:Electricity 800.00 USD
Assets:Checking -800.00 USDAirdrop Templates
Token Airdrops
; Template: Receive token airdrop
YYYY-MM-DD * "[TOKEN] Airdrop from [PROJECT]"
Assets:Crypto:Wallet:[WALLET]:[TOKEN] [AMOUNT] [TOKEN] {[PRICE] USD}
Income:Crypto:Airdrops -[VALUE] USD ; [VALUE] = [AMOUNT] * [PRICE]
; Example: UNI token airdrop
2024-03-01 * "UNI Airdrop from Uniswap"
Assets:Crypto:Wallet:MetaMask:UNI 400 UNI {8.00 USD}
Income:Crypto:Airdrops -3200.00 USD ; 400 * 8.00Like a staking reward, the airdrop's recognized value becomes its cost basis. Record the price you can defend — the token's first liquid quote, from a source you name — rather than a round number.
Advanced Templates
Flash Loan Arbitrage
This block is pseudocode, not a template. It sketches the sequence of value movements inside a flash loan. It will not load even after you substitute values, because the blank lines between the groups end the transaction — Beancount reports a syntax error on the postings that follow one. Record a real flash loan as a single transaction with no blank lines (labelling the legs with indented ; comments), dropping the intermediate legs that net to zero within the same block.
Pseudocode: flash loan arbitrage
borrow Assets:Crypto:Temp:FlashLoan +[LOAN_AMOUNT] [TOKEN]
Liabilities:DeFi:[PROTOCOL]:Flash -[LOAN_AMOUNT] [TOKEN]
execute Assets:Crypto:Temp:FlashLoan -[LOAN_AMOUNT] [TOKEN]
Assets:Crypto:Temp:Arbitrage +[RETURN_AMOUNT] [TOKEN]
repay Liabilities:DeFi:[PROTOCOL]:Flash +[LOAN_AMOUNT] [TOKEN]
Assets:Crypto:Temp:Arbitrage -[LOAN_PLUS_FEE] [TOKEN]
keep Assets:Crypto:Wallet:[WALLET]:[TOKEN] +[PROFIT] [TOKEN]
Income:Crypto:Arbitrage -[PROFIT_USD] USDEverything the loan touched is gone by the end of the block, so what the ledger actually needs to record is the profit and the protocol fee. The arbitrage example in the portfolio-tracking guide shows the single-transaction shape.
Cross-Chain Bridge
; Template: Bridge assets across chains
YYYY-MM-DD * "Bridge [AMOUNT] [TOKEN] from [CHAIN1] to [CHAIN2]"
Assets:Crypto:[CHAIN1]:[TOKEN] -[AMOUNT] [TOKEN] {[PRICE] USD}
Assets:Crypto:[CHAIN2]:[TOKEN] [AMOUNT] [TOKEN] {[PRICE] USD}
Expenses:Crypto:Bridge:Fees [FEE] [TOKEN] {[PRICE] USD}
Assets:Crypto:[CHAIN1]:[TOKEN] -[FEE] [TOKEN] {[PRICE] USD}
; Example: Bridge ETH to Polygon
2024-02-05 * "Bridge 5 ETH from Ethereum to Polygon"
Assets:Crypto:Ethereum:ETH -5 ETH {2600.00 USD}
Assets:Crypto:Polygon:ETH 5 ETH {2600.00 USD}
Expenses:Crypto:Bridge:Fees 0.01 ETH {2600.00 USD}
Assets:Crypto:Ethereum:ETH -0.01 ETH {2600.00 USD}Tax-Optimized Templates
Tax Loss Harvesting
; Template: Tax loss harvesting
YYYY-MM-DD * "Tax loss harvesting - Sell [CRYPTO] at loss"
Assets:Crypto:[EXCHANGE]:[CRYPTO] -[AMOUNT] [CRYPTO] {[HIGH_COST_BASIS] USD}
Assets:Crypto:[EXCHANGE]:USD [PROCEEDS] USD
Expenses:Crypto:Fees:Trading [FEE] USD
Assets:Crypto:[EXCHANGE]:USD -[FEE] USD
Expenses:CapitalLoss:Crypto [LOSS] USD
; Example: Harvest ADA loss
2024-12-15 * "Tax loss harvesting - Sell ADA at loss"
Assets:Crypto:Binance:ADA -1000 ADA {0.60 USD} @ 0.45 USD
Assets:Crypto:Binance:USD 450.00 USD ; gross proceeds, 1,000 * 0.45
Expenses:Crypto:Fees:Trading 5.00 USD
Assets:Crypto:Binance:USD -5.00 USD
Expenses:CapitalLoss:Crypto 150.00 USD ; 600.00 basis - 450.00 proceedsThe loss is the mirror image of a gain: $600.00 of basis leaves, $450.00 of gross proceeds arrive, and the $150.00 difference is a positive posting to an expense account. $445.00 of cash is what actually lands, after the $5.00 fee.
Long-term Capital Gains
; Template: Long-term capital gains sale
YYYY-MM-DD * "Long-term sale - [CRYPTO] held > 1 year"
date-acquired: "[PURCHASE_DATE]"
holding-period: "[DAYS] days"
Assets:Crypto:[EXCHANGE]:[CRYPTO] -[AMOUNT] [CRYPTO] {[COST_BASIS] USD} @ [SALE_PRICE] USD
Assets:Crypto:[EXCHANGE]:USD [GROSS_PROCEEDS] USD
Expenses:Crypto:Fees:Trading [FEE] USD
Assets:Crypto:[EXCHANGE]:USD -[FEE] USD
Income:CapitalGains:LongTerm -[GAIN] USD
; Example: Long-term BTC sale
2025-02-01 * "Long-term sale - BTC held 382 days"
date-acquired: "2024-01-15"
holding-period: "382 days"
Assets:Crypto:Coinbase:BTC -1.0 BTC {45000.00 USD} @ 55000.00 USD
Assets:Crypto:Coinbase:USD 55000.00 USD
Expenses:Crypto:Fees:Trading 50.00 USD
Assets:Crypto:Coinbase:USD -50.00 USD
Income:CapitalGains:LongTerm -10000.00 USD ; 55,000.00 proceeds - 45,000.00 basisThe gain is $10,000.00, not $9,950.00: the $50.00 fee is already recorded as an expense, so netting it into the gain would deduct it twice. Income:CapitalGains:LongTerm is a separate account from Income:CapitalGains:Crypto only so the holding period is visible in a report — Beancount does not compute holding periods for you, which is why the date-acquired and holding-period metadata are worth carrying.
Reconciliation Templates
Monthly Balance Verification
; Template: Monthly balance assertions
YYYY-MM-DD balance Assets:Crypto:[EXCHANGE]:[CRYPTO] [EXPECTED_BALANCE] [CRYPTO]
YYYY-MM-DD balance Assets:Crypto:Wallet:[WALLET]:[CRYPTO] [EXPECTED_BALANCE] [CRYPTO]
; Example: January balance verification
2024-01-31 balance Assets:Crypto:Coinbase:BTC 2.5 BTC
2024-01-31 balance Assets:Crypto:Binance:ETH 15.0 ETH
2024-01-31 balance Assets:Crypto:Wallet:Ledger:BTC 1.0 BTCUnlike the other examples here, this one is not self-contained by design: the amounts are whatever your own exchange screens say, and the assertion fails until your transactions are in the ledger — which is the entire point of it. Note that balance checks the balance at the start of the named day, so date the assertion the day after the period you are closing.
Price Updates
; Template: Daily price updates
YYYY-MM-DD price [CRYPTO] [PRICE] USD
; Example: Daily prices
2024-01-15 price BTC 45000.00 USD
2024-01-15 price ETH 2500.00 USD
2024-01-15 price ADA 0.50 USDUsage Instructions
-
Copy the relevant template for your transaction type
-
Replace every placeholder. A template is not valid Beancount until
YYYY-MM-DDand each[BRACKETED]token is gone — brackets are not Beancount syntax, and a leftover one is a parse error, not a silently ignored value. Substituting is mechanical:Placeholder Substitute Example YYYY-MM-DDthe transaction's date 2024-03-20[AMOUNT]units of the commodity, unquoted 0.5[CRYPTO]the commodity symbol, uppercase BTC[EXCHANGE]the account component for the venue Coinbase[COST_BASIS]the per-unit cost of the lot you are removing 45000.00[SALE_PRICE]the per-unit price you sold at 48000.00[GROSS_PROCEEDS][AMOUNT]×[SALE_PRICE], before fees24000.00[FEE]the venue's fee, in the currency it was charged 30.00[GAIN][GROSS_PROCEEDS]−[AMOUNT]×[COST_BASIS]1500.00Substituting that column into the Cryptocurrency Sale template reproduces the worked example printed under it, which is the quickest way to check you have read the template correctly.
-
Adjust account names to match your account structure, and make sure each one is opened by the Account Structure Template — an account that is never opened is a load error, not a warning
-
Add metadata as needed for tax reporting or tracking
-
Verify calculations with
bean-check your-file.beanbefore finalizing entries. An entry that does not balance, or that reduces a lot you do not hold, fails there rather than quietly producing a wrong report
Best Practices
- Use consistent naming conventions
- Include transaction IDs in metadata
- Document complex transactions thoroughly
- Verify exchange rates and prices
- Maintain regular backups of your files
These templates provide a solid foundation for cryptocurrency accounting in Beancount.io. Customize them based on your specific needs and trading patterns.