Crypto Governance Crunch: 1 in 4 North American CFOs Eye 2027 Treasury Overhaul

Corporate treasuries are flipping the script—crypto’s no longer the rebellious intern, it’s getting a seat at the CFO’s table.

The 25% Pivot

Nearly a quarter of North America’s finance chiefs are quietly retooling balance sheets for digital assets by 2027, swapping T-bills for tokenized treasuries. No more ‘crypto curiosity’—this is cold, hard allocation math.

Wall Street’s Worst Nightmare

Legacy banks are sweating as CFOs bypass traditional custody channels. Why pay 75bps for ‘security theater’ when a multisig wallet does the job for pennies? (Bonus point: JP Morgan’s blockchain division just ordered 10,000 stress balls.)

The Fine Print

Regulatory hurdles? Plenty. But when 24% of your peers are moving, FOMO beats compliance headaches every time. The real question: Will they HODL through the next 50% drawdown?

Concerns Over Volatility and Controls

Deloitte found that 23% of respondents said their treasury teams will utilize cryptocurrency for either payments or investments by 2027, with the figure rising to almost 40% among CFOs at firms with $10 billion or more in revenue.

The report noted that 43% of CFOs cited price volatility as their top concern in adopting non-stable cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether. Accounting complexity and controls were identified by 42%, followed by a lack of industry regulation at 40%.

Regulatory uncertainty has been heightened by recent U.S. policy shifts. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) formed a crypto task force in January before rescinding prior accounting guidance, prompting the Financial Accounting Standards Board to update its own rules in March.

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Fifteen percent of CFOs indicated they expect to accept stablecoins for payments within two years, with the proportion again higher for the largest companies. Forty-five percent of respondents pointed to improved customer privacy as a benefit, while 39% cited efficiency in cross-border payments.

Corporate Treasury Use Cases Expanding

Beyond treasury functions, CFOs identified supply chain tracking as a key application. More than half said they expect to use non-stable cryptocurrencies for this purpose, and nearly as many indicated the same for stablecoins.

The survey also showed that discussions about cryptocurrency are becoming common at senior levels.

Thirty-seven percent of CFOs said they had spoken with their boards about crypto adoption, while 41% had discussed it with CIOs, and 34% with banks or lenders. Only 2% reported no engagement with stakeholders on the issue.

The growing dialogue suggests corporations are weighing not only direct financial use cases but also how digital assets could reshape vendor relationships, treasury systems, and compliance frameworks.

At the same time, the trajectory of stablecoin regulation and central bank digital currency initiatives could determine whether CFOs view crypto primarily as a niche investment tool or as an eventual component of mainstream corporate payment and settlement systems.

Frequently Asked Questions

CFOs may require updated audit frameworks to manage blockchain transactions, ensuring transparency, risk control, and compliance with evolving accounting standards.

Departments will likely need expertise in blockchain technology, cross-border settlement systems, cybersecurity, and compliance with multi-jurisdictional regulations.

Yes. Crypto-based payments and supply chain tracking may streamline reconciliation processes and provide transparency in procurement and logistics.

Clearer rules could accelerate adoption by reducing regulatory risk and encouraging CFOs to view stablecoins as viable settlement assets.