Course Structure

6-week Cohort-based course

  • On-Demand Lessons

    You will receive on-demand video content to learn at your leisure so you can work at your own pace.

  • Community

    You can join the community to chat and learn from other CDAA members, current and past.

  • Professional Instructors

    Created and taught by a CPA and CFP, one of the originators of the Certified Digital Asset Advisor designation.

  • Homework

    We give you assignments, since the best way to learn Crypto is to try it.

Instructor

Meet the course expert

Senior Instructor

Steve Larsen

Steve Larsen, CPA, CFP® is a Partner at Columbia Advisory Partners where he manages financial planning and digital asset strategies for the firm. He is also the Co-Founder of PlannerDAO, a decentralized community of financial advisors, and the Certified Digital Asset Advisor (CDAA) designation. Through his Crypto for Planners consulting business, he helps Registered Investment Advisers establish cryptocurrency programs for their clients. As a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Financial Planner, Steve has spent most of his career as an independent, fiduciary advisor. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Finance at Gonzaga University where he teaches classes in Cryptocurrency and Financial Planning along with developing continuing education courses for CPAs and CFPs.

Course curriculum

What you'll learn in this course

  • 1

    Welcome to the course!

    • Welcome to the Certified Digital Asset Advisor Course for CPAs

    • What is CDAA?

    • Goals of the Course

    • Course Modules

    • Course Communication
  • 2

    Module 1 - Bitcoin and Blockchain

    • Why Bitcoin was created

    • How Bitcoin Works

    • Hashing Demo

    • Proof of Work and Mining

    • Blockchain Demo

    • Decentralized Ledger Technology

    • Blockchain Characteristics-Trustless

    • Blockchain Characteristics-Immutable

    • Blockchain Characteristics-Decentralized

    • Blockchain Characteristics-Private

    • Blockchain Characteristics-Transparent

    • Bitcoin Upgrades & Forks

    • Bitcoin - Taproot

    • Bitcoin- Lightning Network

    • Bitcoin- Investment Theses

    • Three Reasons People Invest in Bitcoin

    • Valuation of Bitcoin

    • Valuation Vs. Gold

    • Quiz

    • Bitcoin Whitepaper
  • 3

    Module 2 - Ethereum

    • Why Ethereum

    • About Ethereum

    • Smart Contracts

    • Composability

    • What is Gas

    • Ethereum Upgrades/Changes EIP/ERC

    • EIP 1559

    • What is a Token

    • ERC20/721

    • Types of Tokens

    • Ethereum 2.0 - The Merge

    • Proof of Stake

    • Sharding and Rollups

    • Layer 2 and Sidechains
  • 4

    Module 3 - Wallets and Custody

    • Private/Public Keys

    • Private/ Public Key Demo

    • Wallets - Part 1

    • Wallets - Part 2

    • Multi-Signature Wallets(Multi-Sig)

    • Metamask

    • Metamask Set up

    • On/Off Ramps -Part 1

    • On/Off Ramps- Part 2

    • Exchanges - Part 1

    • Exchanges- Part 2

    • Custody

    • Platforms

    • Volatility

    • Derivatives Futures/Swaps

    • Transactions

    • Week 3 Summary

    • Quiz

    • Hardware Wallets

    • Hardware Wallet Setup Demo - Ledger Nano X
  • 5

    Module 4 - Decentralized Finance - DeFi

    • Module Intro - DeFi

    • What is DeFi

    • Smart Contracts

    • Decentralization

    • Composability

    • Protocols

    • Intro to Stablecoins

    • Algorithmic Stablecoins

    • DeFi Lending

    • Decentralized Exchanges

    • Liquidity Providers

    • Oracles

    • Decentralized Insurance

    • Derivatives

    • Centralized Exchange

    • Week 4 Homework
  • 6

    Module 5 - Use cases - NFTs, DAO, Yield

    • Introduction to Use Cases

    • Tokens

    • Web 3.0

    • Web 3 Wallets

    • Non Fungible Tokens (NFT)

    • NFT Past and Present

    • NFT Future

    • Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAO's)

    • DAO Use Cases

    • Security Tokens

    • DAO Protocols

    • Yield Generation

    • Yield - Centralized Interest

    • Yield - Decentralized Interest

    • Yield - Liquidity Pools

    • Yield - Staking

    • Airdrops

    • Other Layer 1's
  • 7

    Module 6 - Adding Crypto to Your Practice

    • Introduction

    • Crypto in your CPA Practice

    • Crypto and Tax

    • IRS Form

    • Crypto Tax Example

    • Other Tax Items

    • CFO Implications

    • Payroll Considerations

    • Treasury Management

    • Audit Implications

    • Web 3.0 Capital Structures

    • Types of Tokens

    • Resources
  • 8

    Resources

    • Crypto Account Form - Wallets

    • Crypto Account Form - Accounts

    • Crypto Estate Plan

    • Crypto Intake Form

C.E. Credits

Receive Continuing Education Credits

  • 12 hours of NASBA approved CPA Continuing Professional Education credits included


  • 12 hours of CFP Continuing Education credit has been granted by CFP Board

Compliant. Profitable. Scalable.

We've gone through countless videos, courses, white papers, webinars, and books, and assembled the information you need to know to add Crypto and Digital Assets to your practice.

  • Learn

    As a Certified Digital Asset Advisor, you get to show clients and prospects you’re on the cutting edge of investment and planning options.

  • Implement

    The CDAA system will include your offerings, pricing, client conversations, custodians, allocations, reviews, and reporting system.

  • Scale

    The crypto world is expanding on a daily basis, making it difficult to stay on top of this dynamic space. As a CDAA you will be able to focus on what matters to your clients.

Clients Want Digital Asset Advice

Clients are looking for CPAs who understand digital assets and know how to manage it. These are the clients you want, and they’re asking you to learn.

  • The average age of a Bitcoin investor is 42.


  • The average investor has at least one college degree.


  • 55% said they would be motivated if their Financial Advisor recommends it.


  • 60% of investors think Bitcoin has a place n their portfolio.


  • Millennials and GenX stand to inherit $68 trillion in the next 2 decades.

The time is now!

Are You Ready to Learn About Digital Assets and Crypto for Your Clients?

Enroll Now

Learning Objectives

·Understand Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency to the point that you can articulate some of the value propositions

·      Understand custody and be able to evaluate custodial options

·      Have conversations with clients and partners about how Crypto fits in a portfolio

·      Create a service offering for Crypto withing your firm, including:

o   Allocation conversations

o   Custodial options

o   Privacy conversations

o   Security conversations

o   Estate planning 

Instructional delivery method: Self Study

Recommended CPE Hours: 12

Field of study: Finance

Prerequisites: None

Program knowledge level: Basic

Advanced preparation: None

Additional information on our FAQ Page.