Over the past year, as the Trump administration continued to push crypto companies into the mainstream financial system, market interest in cryptocurrencies, especially stablecoins, has significantly increased. However, for CFOs, there are still many unanswered questions about the potential use cases and possible drawbacks of stablecoins—digital assets whose value is pegged to another asset, typically fiat currency.

Clare Adelgren, global blockchain sales and operations lead at Ernst & Young, one of the Big Four accounting firms, said that finance executives need to look at stablecoins differently to clearly understand their capabilities and how they can be integrated into their businesses.

"If I were a CFO, I think you have to look at stablecoins 'upside down,'" Adelgren said. She suggested viewing stablecoins from a technologist's perspective, ultimately seeing them as a 'redesign' of payment rails.

Watershed moment

Since President Trump signed the GENIUS Act in July, interest in stablecoins among corporations and financial institutions has surged. Adelgren called the passage of the act a 'watershed moment' for the sector, as it is the first legislation focused on stablecoins that clarifies issuance requirements, paving the way for broader adoption.

"One of the changes happening right now is that many mature companies are entering this space, and their expectations and ways of succeeding are vastly different from three or four years ago," she said. "So, I think in the future you will see different infrastructure."

Since the act was signed, the number of companies experimenting with stablecoins has increased. For example, asset management giant BlackRock recently adjusted one of its money market funds to serve stablecoin issuers, and payment processor Stripe applied for a national bank charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) under the GENIUS Act, according to DeCrypt.

A survey conducted by EY Parthenon in mid-June showed that 13% of financial institutions and corporations said they are using stablecoins, while 54% of 'non-users' expect to adopt them within the next 6 to 12 months. The survey was conducted after the Senate passed the GENIUS Act but before the House did.

Additionally, the survey of 350 executives found that a majority of global respondents believe that by 2030, 5% to 10% of cross-border payments will use stablecoins, with transaction volumes projected to reach $2.1 trillion to $4.2 trillion.

Adelgren describes herself as a 'technologist at heart,' with a career focused on helping large enterprises leverage new technologies. According to her LinkedIn profile, before joining EY in July 2022, she spent over two decades at tech giant IBM, holding several key executive positions.

Making stablecoins 'spendable'

When viewing stablecoins as a payment alternative, 'this is really about reimagining and redesigning settlement rails, so it will touch everything related to payments,' she said of these digital assets. However, for CFOs, making room for these assets is fundamentally a strategic issue.

"The CFO's true priorities will be driven by the strategic direction of their current business," she said of technology integration. "Where are my pressure points?"

Finance executives are studying how stablecoins can alleviate pressure in areas like cross-border payments, which has become a key use case for the asset. EY's survey found that among respondents currently using stablecoins, 41% 'reported cost savings of at least 10%, primarily from B2B cross-border payments.'

However, after identifying the use case, CFOs and their executive peers need to 'consider another thing: how easy is implementation for me?' Adelgren said. When adopting stablecoins, 'absorbability'—how seamlessly they can be integrated into the business—will be crucial.

From a CFO's perspective, 'I want to be able to run my business and I want to work with banks, so stablecoins should be usable and should be spendable,' she said. In other words, the responsibility lies with banks and financial partners, who need to build the necessary payment infrastructure.

Personally, Adelgren does not believe that stablecoin payment infrastructure will replace the existing payment rails that global companies already use. Instead, 'stablecoins will exist in parallel, and maintaining harmony between the two will be very important,' she said.