DISCLOSURE PRACTICES OF DIGITAL ASSETS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF IFRS AND GAAP COMPLIANCE

As digital assets reshape global finance, South Africa faces growing pressure to align its disclosure practices with IFRS and GAAP standards. This study responds to the urgent need for harmonized reporting by investigating how digital asset ecosystem maturity-comprising technological infrastructure, regulatory alignment, and stakeholder readiness-affects disclosure practices among South African firms from 2020 to 2024. With over 45 firms analyzed using fixed-effects regression models, the study relied entirely on secondary data and applied diagnostic tests (ADF, VIF, Durbin-Watson, Breusch-Pagan) to ensure statistical robustness. The findings show that technological infrastructure had the greatest influence (β = 0.422, p< 0.001), followed by regulatory alignment (β = 0.365), stakeholder readiness (β = 0.348), and the institutional environment (β = 0.288). The correlation matrix revealed strong positive relationships, especially between technological infrastructure and disclosure practices (r = 0.87). Overall, 79% of the variation in disclosure compliance was explained by the model (R² = 0.79). These results underscore the importance of blockchain auditability, policy consistency, and stakeholder training in improving digital asset transparency. The study recommends investments in traceable ledger systems, mandatory valuation disclosures, and broader IFRS-GAAP harmonization. By advancing a compliance-oriented framework, this research contributes significantly to digital asset accounting reform and investor confidence in emerging markets.