Ripple sent a letter to the SEC's Crypto Task Force this week demanding regulatory clarity on stablecoins and tokenized securities. The request follows a March 20 meeting between Ripple and the task force, and comes as the crypto industry watches for signs of a friendlier approach under the current administration.
What Ripple asked for
The letter zeroes in on several specific rule changes. Ripple wants the SEC to amend Rule 15c3-1 so stablecoins can be applied on broker-dealer balance sheets. It also asks for Rule 15c3-3 to define a new category called 'Qualified Payment Stablecoins' for custody purposes. On the haircut front, Ripple argues that a 2% haircut for stablecoins is too punitive — it suggests 0% if there's a mint-burn relationship between the broker-dealer and the issuer.
Beyond stablecoins, Ripple wants the Crypto Task Force to confirm that crypto asset non-securities beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum can receive the same treatment as commodities. The firm also suggested revising Question 4 in the SEC's FAQ on crypto asset activities to account for non-securities that meet the readily marketable definition. On ownership, Ripple pressed the SEC to clarify whether off-chain or on-chain registry takes precedence, urging that the on-chain registry be the single authoritative legal register.
The political backdrop
The letter lands as Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse declared the 'anti-crypto army' defeated — by the courts, voters, and U.S. President Donald Trump. Garlinghouse was reacting to a Trump post that called out former SEC Chair Gary Gensler and the anti-crypto army for nearly destroying the American crypto industry. Trump went further, vowing that his administration will codify the CLARITY Act, a law that he said cannot be undone by 'crypto haters'.
What comes next
The SEC's Crypto Task Force now has a detailed set of proposals to work through. Whether the agency adopts any of Ripple's suggested rule changes depends on the task force's own timeline and priorities. But the letter — combined with Trump's promise to enshrine the CLARITY Act — suggests the regulatory conversation around stablecoins and tokenized securities is shifting fast. The next concrete deadline: the task force's response to Ripple's requests, if any, or the progress of the CLARITY Act through Congress.
