If companies pay customers in cash (with no goods and services of equivalent or higher value received in exchange), they have to deduct such payments from revenue under US GAAP.
What’s interesting is that consideration payable to customers guidance only applies to cash, credits, or similar items that can reduce seller’s accounts receivable, and equity instruments transferred to customers.
Any non-monetary assets transferred to customers are not in the scope of this guidance. As cryptocurrency is a non-monetary asset, there is a legitimate basis to treat any payments to customers made in cryptocurrency as expenses rather than reduction of revenue even if the substance of transaction is the same as payment to customers made in cash.
Hopefully, this question will be addressed by FASB as part of their digital asset project agenda.