SEC permits 2% haircut on stablecoins

Staff at the US Securities and Exchange Commission said they would not object to broker-dealers applying a 2% haircut to stablecoin holdings when calculating net capital requirements.

The clarification, published by the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets as part of its “Frequently Asked Questions Relating to Crypto Asset Activities and Distributed Ledger Technology”, removes prior uncertainty that had led some firms to consider a punitive 100% haircut on dollar-pegged tokens.

“In my view, a 100% haircut would be unnecessarily punitive given the underlying reserve assets that back payment stablecoins,”

Said SEC Commissioner, Hester Peirce.

Under the guidance, a broker-dealer holding $100 million in stablecoins could count $98 million towards its net capital, aligning treatment more closely with money market funds that hold low-risk assets such as US Treasurys and certificates of deposit.

“Stablecoins are essential to transacting on blockchain rails. Using stablecoins will make it feasible for broker-dealers to engage in a broader range of business activities relating to tokenised securities and other crypto assets,”

Peirce said.

The US stablecoin market, which surged after President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS stablecoin bill into law in July 2025, recently slipped about $6 billion from its December 2025 peak above $300 billion but still stands near $295 billion according to RWA.XYZ data.

Despite the expansion, some policymakers remain sceptical, with Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari questioning their utility by saying:

“I could send any one of you $5 with Venmo, or PayPal, or Zelle, so what is it that this magical stablecoin can do?”