Ripple Pushes SEC On Stablecoin Rules

Ripple has submitted a formal follow-up letter to the SEC Crypto Task Force, dated May 22, 2026, pressing regulators for concrete rule changes covering payment stablecoins, tokenized assets, and the treatment of crypto non-securities under existing broker-dealer frameworks.

The Haircut Dispute

At the center of Ripple's submission is a challenge to the SEC's current capital treatment of stablecoins. The SEC's February 2026 FAQ introduced a 2% haircut for qualifying payment stablecoins held on broker-dealer balance sheets. Ripple argues that figure is disproportionate. To support the case, the company submitted a volatility analysis comparing its own $RLUSD stablecoin and USDC against 3-month U.S. Treasury benchmarks, concluding that a 2% haircut represents a 47.85 standard deviation event for RLUSD, a confidence level so extreme as to be functionally meaningless.

Ripple's preferred approach is a 0% haircut where the broker-dealer has a direct mint-burn relationship with the issuer, since the ability to redeem at par minus the burn fee makes secondary market pricing irrelevant. The letter proposes a new "Qualified Payment Stablecoins" category under Rule 15c3-3 and asks the SEC to extend non-securities treatment beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Ripple's letter calls for Rule 15c3-1 to be amended to clarify how stablecoins can be applied on broker-dealer balance sheets. That rule sits at the center of net capital requirements, making the treatment of stablecoin collateral a practical issue for regulated intermediaries that want to handle tokenized instruments without facing capital treatment that makes the activity uneconomic.

On-Chain Records and Broader Non-Security Treatment

Ripple asks the SEC to clarify whether an off-chain or on-chain registry takes precedence in determining ownership and legally enforceable rights. Its proposed answer is direct: designate the on-chain registry as the single authoritative legal register, which Ripple says would eliminate "dual-registry ambiguity" in digital twin structures.

Ripple takes direct aim at Question 4 of the SEC's FAQ on Crypto Asset Activities, which currently limits "readily marketable" treatment to Bitcoin and Ether. The letter notes that the Task Force acknowledged during the March meeting it did not wish to appear to be "picking winners or losers" by naming specific assets like XRP. The push carries clear relevance for $XRP given its classification history.

Ripple submitted the formal written response to the SEC's Crypto Task Force, dated May 22, 2026, following up on a March 20 meeting that included Commissioner Hester Peirce and Task Force staff. The May letter converts the agenda items from that session into specific rule proposals and supporting analysis, with Ripple Prime (formerly Hidden Road) and law firm Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP also listed as participants in the original meeting.

Sources:
Ripple Pushes SEC Crypto Task Force for 0% Stablecoin Haircut (Crypto Times)
Ripple Turns Up Pressure On SEC Over Crypto Rules (Bitcoinist)
SEC Crypto Task Force Meeting Memo: Ripple, Ripple Prime, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP (SEC.gov)