ABOUT THIS EPISODE
On February 19, 2026, the SEC Division of Trading and Markets issued a staff FAQ under Exchange Act Rule 15c3-1 that sets a uniform 2 percent net capital haircut for qualifying payment stablecoins held as proprietary long and short positions, replacing a prior de facto full deduction practice. The 2 percent level aligns with haircuts applied to money-market instruments backed by short-term Treasuries and cash. The treatment applies only to proprietary positions included in net capital, does not change customer protection or custody rules, and does not apply to customer assets. Eligibility requires compliance with GENIUS Act criteria, permitted issuer licensing, full fiat reserves, monthly AICPA reserve attestations, recognized auditors, and bankruptcy-remote custody and tested redemption mechanics. Firms must update trading and risk systems to identify eligible tokens and apply the 2 percent haircut, collect and retain issuer documentation and attestations, implement diverse price sources and automated depeg thresholds, and establish escalation and collateral-substitution playbooks; firms may apply higher internal haircuts and concentration checks or stress testing if liquidity or peg conditions deteriorate. The change reduces capital charges for eligible holdings (for example, $100 million of eligible tokens now triggers a $2 million charge rather than a full deduction) and permits broker-dealers, clearing brokers, and prime brokers to consider using eligible stablecoins for settlement, collateral, intraday funding, market making, and treasury operations. The SEC invited feedback on whether to amend Rule 15c3-1 to codify definitions and eligibility conditions, and cross-agency coordination and final rulemaking by other regulators will affect which issuers can rely on this treatment; the NCUA proposed GENIUS Act rules on February 12, 2026, including licensing, reserve and liquidity standards, and a proposed one percent investment limit for credit unions.
Source: https://web3businessnews.com/policy/sec-stablecoin-capital-relief/
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