FASB Stablecoin Proposal Opens Door to Corporate Cash Treatment

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has released a proposed rule that would let companies treat stablecoins as cash equivalents. The accounting body, which sets the reporting standards known as GAAP, opened the draft for public comment until November 19. After that, the board can move to finalize the guidance.

FASB says the idea grew out of a 2025 consultation where members raised concerns about how companies should list stablecoins on their balance sheets. There is no clear standard for that today. The proposal would change the definition of cash equivalents to include stablecoins and certain digital assets.

Under the plan, companies would need to disclose what counts as their cash equivalents – low-risk investments that can be turned into cash quickly. Adding stablecoins to this bucket would put them alongside cash and short-term government bonds. That is a shift from where they sit now.

Crypto commentator David Hoffman, who writes for Bankless, called the move bullish for stablecoin companies. He said it points to a broader shift in how regulators view digital assets. Austin Campbell, founder of the crypto consulting firm Zero Knowledge Group, shared a similar take. The rule would let corporations hold stablecoins the same way they hold cash, at least for coins that meet the GENIUS Act standard, he said.

The GENIUS Act requires U.S.-issued stablecoins to be backed one-to-one by dollars. That backing is why supporters argue these coins qualify as cash equivalents.