The Rise of Stablecoin Giving: What Nonprofits Need to Know
Why dollar-pegged digital assets are the most accessible, volatility-free entry point into crypto philanthropy for nonprofits of every size
When I introduced crypto giving back in April, I mentioned stablecoins in a single paragraph. So let’s go deeper on stablecoins. Because if there’s a version of crypto philanthropy that is genuinely accessible to organizations that have been hesitant to engage with digital assets, stablecoins are it.
Zero10 Exhibition, Art Basel Miami Beach © Tonya Hennessey
What Is a Stablecoin, Exactly?
A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency designed to maintain a consistent value, typically by being pegged to a fiat currency like the US dollar. USDC (USD Coin), USDT (Tether), and RLUSD (Ripple USD) are among the most widely used. When a donor sends you $10,000 in USDC, it is worth $10,000 upon arrival. Not $7,200 because Bitcoin had a rough Tuesday.
This is the fundamental problem stablecoins solve for nonprofit finance departments. The volatility of Bitcoin and Ethereum is real and it’s significant. A gift worth $25,000 at the moment of donation might be worth $18,000 by the time your organization receives and liquidates it. For organizations operating on tight budgets and trying to meet grant reporting requirements, that unpredictability is not a minor inconvenience. It’s a genuine barrier to adoption.
Stablecoins remove that barrier almost entirely.
The Numbers Behind the Surge
In 2025, donors gave over $32 million in stablecoins to nonprofits processed through The Giving Block, making stablecoins one of the fastest-growing segments of crypto philanthropy. That figure represents a dramatic increase from just two years prior, driven by a combination of growing stablecoin adoption among crypto holders and increasing nonprofit readiness to receive them.
USDC in particular has emerged as the preferred stablecoin for philanthropic giving — it’s issued by Circle, is audited monthly, and is widely regarded as one of the most transparent and reliable stablecoins in the market. According to Givepact, a crypto donation platform that works with more than 500,000 nonprofits, stablecoins have become the top donated asset class in crypto philanthropy.
USDC’s “dollar-denominated” design “supports more predictable donation values, giving nonprofits greater confidence when planning mission-critical budgets and programs.” USDT (Tether) has larger overall market share but has faced more scrutiny around its reserves.
For organizations building a gift acceptance policy, it’s worth specifying which stablecoins you’ll accept rather than leaving it open-ended.
Who Gives in Stablecoins—and Why
Stablecoin donors tend to be sophisticated crypto users who have accumulated holdings across multiple digital assets. They may hold stablecoins specifically as a low-risk store of value within a crypto portfolio, or they may have converted volatile assets to stablecoins and are looking to deploy those funds charitably.
The tax treatment parallels what we covered with Bitcoin and Ethereum: cryptocurrency is property under IRS rules, so donors who give appreciated stablecoins—though stablecoins are designed not to appreciate significantly—can deduct the fair market value while avoiding capital gains. In practice, because stablecoins are pegged to the dollar, the tax advantage is smaller than with volatile crypto. But the transaction is still treated as a non-cash property gift, which means the same IRS documentation requirements apply.
What You Need to Accept Stablecoin Donations
The infrastructure for accepting stablecoins is essentially the same as for any cryptocurrency gift. You need:
A gift acceptance policy that explicitly names stablecoins. List the specific coins you’ll accept (USDC is a safe starting point). Your board needs to approve this, and it should address how quickly you’ll liquidate to USD.
A platform that handles the conversion. The Giving Block and Donorbox both support stablecoin donations and convert to USD for deposit. The mechanics of holding a crypto wallet, managing private keys, and navigating blockchain transactions are handled by the platform — not by you.
A donor-facing landing page that explains you accept crypto, including stablecoins. Many stablecoin donors don’t know their favorite nonprofits can receive these gifts because organizations haven’t told them.
The Budget Conversation With Your Finance Team
Here’s the pitch for your CFO or finance committee: stablecoin donations arrive as USD-equivalent within one to two business days after the donor gives, with no exposure to crypto price volatility. The transaction is documented, the donor receives the required IRS acknowledgment, and the dollars land in your bank account like any other gift.
For finance departments that have resisted crypto donations because of volatility risk and accounting complexity, stablecoins address those objections directly. The conversation is different when you can say: this is effectively the same as an ACH transfer from a donor’s bank account, routed through a different technological rail.
A Note on What’s Coming
The stablecoin landscape is still evolving, but regulatory clarity in the US has taken a significant leap forward. In 2025, Congress passed the GENIUS Act (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins), the first federal framework regulating stablecoin issuers and establishing payment stablecoins as cash-equivalent assets. For nonprofits, this is a meaningful shift: it eliminates board-level concerns about issuer solvency and legitimizes stablecoin gifts, making finance committee conversations considerably easier. RLUSD, Ripple’s entry into the dollar-pegged stablecoin market, launched in late 2024 and is growing quickly in the philanthropic space. Keep an eye on it.
For nonprofits just beginning to engage with crypto philanthropy, stablecoins are a genuinely accessible entry point. The volatility concern (often the first and loudest objection) simply doesn’t apply here. The donor pool is real, growing, and philanthropically motivated. And the infrastructure to receive these gifts is more and more nonprofit-friendly.
New to the crypto conversation entirely? Go back and read the April 28 issue first—it’s the foundation. Then come back here.