SEC Staff Issues FAQ on Payment Stablecoin Net Capital Treatment for Broker-Dealers, USA, February 2026

On February 19, 2026, the SEC Division of Trading and Markets issued a staff FAQ providing that a broker-dealer may apply a 2% haircut on proprietary positions in qualifying payment stablecoins when calculating net capital under Exchange Act Rule 15c3-1. The FAQ is a staff-level interpretive position; it is not a final rule or Commission order, and it is not binding on courts or the Commission itself. Commissioner Hester M. Peirce issued a concurrent statement expressing support for the FAQ and inviting public input on potential Rule 15c3-1 amendments to formally address payment stablecoins.

The controlling rule is Exchange Act Rule 15c3-1 (17 C.F.R. § 240.15c3-1), the SEC's net capital rule for broker-dealers. Rule 15c3-1 does not expressly address payment stablecoins. The FAQ defines a "payment stablecoin" as: (a) prior to the GENIUS Act's effective date, a USD-denominated stablecoin issued by a state-regulated money transmitter, state-regulated trust company, or national trust bank, with reserves meeting 12 U.S.C. § 5903(a)(1)(A) requirements, public redemption policy disclosure, and monthly attestation reports; and (b) following the GENIUS Act's effective date, any stablecoin meeting the Act's definition and issued by a "permitted payment stablecoin issuer" or compliant "foreign payment stablecoin issuer." The 2% haircut aligns with the haircut applied to registered investment companies that are money market funds under Rule 15c3-1.

Registered broker-dealers that hold payment stablecoins in proprietary inventory now have clear staff guidance: they may take a 2% haircut rather than the 100% haircut some had applied out of caution. This change materially lowers the net capital cost of holding stablecoins, making it feasible for broker-dealers to engage in tokenized securities transactions, on-chain settlement, and other crypto asset business that depends on stablecoin liquidity. Custodians and crypto trading platforms registered as broker-dealers will benefit most directly.

The FAQ is staff-level guidance only and does not amend Rule 15c3-1. Commissioner Peirce noted the haircut may need future formal rulemaking at the Commission level. The definition of qualifying "payment stablecoin" will shift once the GENIUS Act takes effect, removing the pre-Act definitional criteria. Broker-dealers holding stablecoins that do not meet the qualifying criteria must continue to calculate haircuts on a case-by-case basis without benefit of the 2% safe harbor.

Source: Commissioner Hester M. Peirce, "Cutting by Two Would Do," Statement, Feb. 19, 2026, https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/peirce-stablecoin-021926-cutting-two-would-do (confirmed Mar. 5, 2026). The Division of Trading and Markets FAQ on payment stablecoins and Rule 15c3-1 is referenced therein.

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