On February 19, the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets issued a new frequently asked question (FAQ) on the treatment of payment stablecoins under the broker-dealer net capital rule (Exchange Act Rule 15c3-1) to its list of FAQs related to digital asset activities and distributed ledger technology. The FAQ stated that the SEC staff would not object if broker-dealers applied a 2 percent “haircut” to proprietary positions in such assets when calculating net capital. In a statement, Commissioner Hester Pierce expressed agreement with the staff’s approach and contended that using stablecoins would expand the number of digital assets-related business activities available for broker-dealers. The Commissioner indicated her desire to amend Rule 15c3-1 to incorporate payment stablecoins and requested industry feedback regarding market participants’ views thereon as well as general feedback on SEC rules that could be modified to address payment stablecoins.
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