Figure’s CFO Supports Treating Stablecoin as Cash

Why It Matters

Reclassifying stablecoins as cash would standardize reporting, lower compliance costs, and accelerate fintech adoption of digital assets across the financial industry.

Key Takeaways

• Figure CFO urges FASB to reclassify stablecoins as cash
• Current standards treat stablecoins as intangible assets, causing ambiguity
• Figure's $YLDS stablecoin is SEC‑registered and interest‑bearing
• HELOC closures now average ten days, versus industry 45 days
• FASB project approved last fall aims to clarify digital‑asset accounting

Pulse Analysis

Stablecoins sit in a gray area under U.S. GAAP, currently recorded as intangible assets. That treatment forces firms to apply amortization and impairment tests that do not reflect the liquidity of a dollar‑pegged token. Figure Technology’s CFO Macrina KgIl is lobbying the Financial Accounting Standards Board to reclassify stablecoins as cash or cash equivalents, a move that would align accounting with the asset’s true nature. The FASB launched a technical project last fall to address digital‑asset accounting, and a decision this year could set a precedent for the entire fintech sector.

Figure’s push is more than a bookkeeping issue; it underpins the company’s $8.7 billion market valuation and its blockchain‑native loan marketplace. After merging with Figure Markets, the firm issued $YLDS, an SEC‑registered, interest‑bearing stablecoin used to fund consumer home‑equity loans. By treating $YLDS as cash, Figure can streamline balance‑sheet reporting, reduce compliance costs, and present a clearer picture of liquidity to investors. Faster loan closing times—five to ten days versus the industry’s 45‑day average—are already a competitive advantage that could be amplified by clearer accounting rules.

If the FASB adopts the cash‑equivalent classification, other crypto‑enabled lenders and payment platforms are likely to follow, accelerating mainstream acceptance of stablecoins in corporate finance. Clear guidance would also diminish audit disputes and enable more accurate risk‑adjusted pricing of digital‑asset‑backed products. However, regulators may still scrutinize the underlying reserves and governance of each token, meaning firms must maintain robust transparency. Overall, the accounting shift could lower barriers for traditional banks to integrate stablecoins, broaden the pool of capital for blockchain‑based lending, and reshape the competitive dynamics of the broader financial services industry.

Figure’s CFO supports treating stablecoin as cash

Macrina Kgil, CFO of the newly public Figure Technology Solutions, would like to see the FASB update standards to classify stablecoins as cash.

An aerial view of residential homes on Sept. 17, 2025, in Fontana, California. Figure’s blockchain‑native marketplace offers home equity loans. Mario Tama via Getty Images

Macrina Kgil, a five‑time CFO who has seen many changes reshape finance roles over her decades‑long career, is eyeing yet another one that could emerge this year: stablecoin accounting standards.

Specifically, she is hopeful the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), as part of a high‑profile technical project that was approved last fall, will decide to classify stablecoins as cash or cash equivalents rather than as intangible assets as they are now treated by many companies.

Kgil, who helped take the blockchain‑native consumer lender Figure Technology Solutions public last fall, thinks it only makes sense to treat stablecoins as cash. She has been frustrated by the lack of clarity in the current standards for some time, recalling how she repeatedly questioned her accountants at a previous company that held the stablecoin Tether about the accounting treatment of the assets.

“We had huge debate on that, multiple times because there was no guidance and it was ambiguous so we didn’t know what the right accounting would be for it,” Kgil said in a recent interview. “I’m very happy the FASB is looking to clarify this because it will just make it more consistent across the board.”

At Figure, Kgil will have a front‑row seat to any changes in the standards on the digital asset regarding generally accepted accounting principles. Last July, Figure Technology merged with Figure Markets, which previously launched an interest‑bearing transferable stablecoin native to the public blockchain named $YLDS that is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Figure, which had a market value of nearly $8.7 billion as of the market close Monday, has been developing new products but one of its core offerings are consumer loans, specifically home‑equity loans or HELOCs.

Since its founding in 2018, Figure Technology has positioned itself as a marketplace for consumer loans which it holds on the blockchain and then resells. Blockchain technology has both enabled buyers of its loans to see the data behind them and assess them more quickly and enabled borrowers to get their loans more quickly.

“What we’ve made easier is our HELOCs can be closed as fast as five days or on average ten days while the industry average is 45 days,” Kgil said.

Kgil holds a bachelor’s in engineering from Seoul National University. She pivoted to become a CPA and began her career at the Big Four firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she worked in auditing and helped take companies public, including the private‑equity giant Fortress Investment Group. She joined Fortress in 2008, serving in an advisory capacity on acquisitions and capital‑market transactions. From 2013 to 2015 she was CFO of Springleaf Financial Services (now One Main Financial), and later served as CFO of Blockchain.com from 2018 to 2022, according to her LinkedIn account.

Looking back, Kgil acknowledges that even though more accounting standards are needed, working in blockchain now compared to just a few years ago has become easier as more people in finance are familiar with it.

“I think it’s much easier today,” Kgil said. “Back then there was no guidance, no regulatory clarity of what needed to be done and the technology was very nascent.”