Ripple has taken a proactive step in its quest for regulatory clarity by submitting detailed technical proposals to the SEC Crypto Task Force. On May 22, 2026, the company issued a formal follow-up letter addressing five critical regulatory gaps that it claims are hindering the adoption of stablecoins and the development of tokenized assets in the United States.
One of Ripple’s key demands is for a 0% capital haircut on qualifying payment stablecoins, a significant reduction from the existing 2% haircut that is currently applied under broker-dealer net capital rules. This move positions Ripple as a leading technical participant in the ongoing rulemaking process by the SEC.
Ripple’s argument against the 2% haircut emphasizes that it is disproportionately punitive. The company conducted a volatility analysis comparing the daily price movements of $RLUSD, $USDC, and 3-month constant maturity U.S. Treasuries over a five-year period. The results revealed striking differences: the standard deviation for $RLUSD was 0.0418% daily, for $USDC it was 0.0156% daily, and for U.S. Treasuries, it was 0.00496% daily. Ripple’s findings indicate that the 2% haircut corresponds to an unrealistic 47.85 standard deviation move for $RLUSD, suggesting that it does not reflect real stablecoin price risks.
In light of these findings, Ripple proposes that when there is a direct mint-burn relationship between a broker-dealer and stablecoin issuer, the haircut should be set to 0%. This contention rests on the premise that the secondary market price becomes irrelevant when redemptions can occur directly at par.
Ripple’s letter outlines five key regulatory areas for reconsideration:
-
Rule 15c3-1 (Net Capital): Proposes recognizing qualifying stablecoins as allowable assets with a 0% haircut under mint-burn conditions.
-
Rule 15c3-3 (Customer Protection): Calls for the creation of a “Qualified Payment Stablecoin” category, allowing these stablecoin balances to be treated as cash equivalents in reserve calculations.
-
Non-security crypto assets: Suggests that the “readily marketable” status currently afforded to Bitcoin and Ethereum should be extended to any non-security that meets the standard, advocating for similar treatment for $XRP.
-
On-chain registry primacy: Recommends designating on-chain registries as the sole authoritative legal record for directly issued tokenized securities, reducing ambiguity around dual-registry structures.
-
OCC-chartered trust banks: Seeks clarification that federally supervised digital asset custodians qualify as “banks” under Rule 15c3-3.
The implications of these proposals are significant for both investors and developers. For those involved in the GENIUS Act stablecoin infrastructure, the 0% haircut proposal would vastly improve capital efficiency in stablecoin-based financing. This, in turn, would lower costs for businesses using $RLUSD or similar assets as collateral, thereby promoting institutional adoption.
For holders of $XRP, the request for non-security equivalence is particularly noteworthy. Ripple is formally asking the SEC to classify $XRP similarly to Bitcoin and Ethereum in broker-dealer capital calculations. If approved, this change would eliminate the remaining compliance barriers for institutional investment in $XRP.
The response from the SEC Crypto Task Force to Ripple’s letter will be critical in determining the extent of the current administration’s crypto-friendly approach regarding specific technical rulemaking.
