Finance executives are increasingly interested in incorporating stablecoins into treasury strategies or using them to ease cross-border payment challenges, but Taxbit CEO Lindsey Argalas says, "Accounting treatment is a very critical part of this issue," and it directly impacts the adoption process of such assets.

Argalas noted in an interview that many traditional accounting tools simply cannot handle the price volatility of crypto assets. CFOs lack confidence in accurately accounting for these assets and maintaining financial compliance, and this distrust has become a significant barrier to crypto asset adoption.

A recent survey by Deloitte, one of the Big Four accounting firms, shows that price volatility, tax considerations, and "accounting and control complexity" are cited by CFOs as major barriers to crypto asset adoption—although among companies with revenue exceeding $10 million, 39% of CFOs expect to use crypto assets within the next two years.

Opening the door

This year, as the Trump administration has taken multiple steps to foster a more crypto-friendly relationship, attention on cryptocurrencies—especially stablecoins, digital assets whose value is pegged to another asset, typically a fiat currency—has significantly increased. These measures include the approval of the GENIUS Act, which sets guidelines for stablecoin issuers, and many experts have praised it for clarifying crypto industry regulation, as CFO Dive previously reported.

Argalas says this clarity is a key part of the continued adoption of stablecoins and other crypto assets. In the past, such assets remained on the sidelines because public companies or other highly regulated institutions "won't operate in ambiguity," Argalas said. "The risk is too high."

Argalas has served as CEO of the tax and accounting services company since 2022. Before joining San Francisco-based Taxbit, she was a senior advisor at data network company Plaid, and previously spent four years at Banco Santander as Chief Digital and Innovation Officer and Senior Executive Vice President, according to her LinkedIn profile. Her experience also includes nearly a decade at software company Intuit, where she held roles such as SVP and Chief of Staff to the Chairman and CEO.

She says the passage of legislation such as the GENIUS Act and the CLARITY Act has reduced the risk of crypto assets, opening the door for more companies to start experimenting.

"Once institutions start adopting—very trusted institutions, whether large banks, large payment companies, etc.—when they start getting involved, it obviously drives the flywheel effect," she said.

Accounting and tax issues remain unresolved, and regulations and reporting standards around cryptocurrencies are still taking shape.

In July, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) listed stablecoins as a topic of interest for future projects, as CFO Dive previously reported. Meanwhile, the next set of rules from regulators may focus on accounting guidance to determine "what is fiat currency and what is not, what is considered cash and cash equivalents and what is not," Nassim Eddequiouaq, CEO and co-founder of stablecoin issuance platform Bastion, previously told CFO Dive.

Looking ahead to industry regulation, "I do see regulators also trying to learn lessons from traditional financial services frameworks," Argalas said.

For example, in tax information reporting, the global digital asset standard—the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), created by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)—is similar to and draws on the OECD's Common Reporting Standard (CRS), which is its fiat currency counterpart, she said.

Green shoots emerging

Argalas expects CFOs to proceed methodically with crypto asset adoption—and so will financial institutions that will use crypto technology to facilitate cross-border payments.

"Many financial institutions are very complex, multifaceted," with multiple lines of business, she said. "So I think adoption won't be sweeping; it will be very, very calculated steps."

As more executives begin to examine potential uses of cryptocurrency, "we are starting to see 'green shoots' of the anticipated convergence between traditional finance and the crypto space," Argalas said.

"Adoption of crypto as an alternative investment strategy in the corporate world is growing," she said.

Additionally, the promise of stablecoins for uses such as cross-border payments is now beginning to match the industry's maturity, with more robust infrastructure—creating more opportunities for adoption, Argalas said.

Long-standing inefficiencies in cross-border payments mean that stablecoins as a new approach among financial leaders "are gaining good momentum," she said, with many seeking to modernize the entire finance function.