Dollar-Pegged Stablecoins ‘Advance a Commercial or Consumer Purpose’ and Are Not Securities, U.S. SEC Clarifies

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is clarifying its stance on stablecoins under the Trump Administration.

In a new press release, the regulatory agency says that non-yield-bearing stablecoins do not qualify as securities that fall under its jurisdiction because they “advance a commercial or consumer purpose.”

According to the SEC, stablecoins aren’t securities because those who purchase them do not expect a return on their investment. Instead, they seek to use the digital assets to purchase goods and services and/or as stores of value.

Furthermore, the agency says that dollar-pegged crypto assets are not distributed in a manner that encourages speculation or investing.

“Covered stablecoins are marketed solely for use in commerce, as a means of making payments, transmitting money, and/or storing value, and not as investments.”

However, the SEC has left the door open to considering alternative types of stablecoins – such as those that are yield-bearing, of the algorithmic variety, or pegged to non-USD assets – as securities, noting that its new stance on dollar-pegged assets doesn’t apply to these types of products and they have yet to formulate a view on the matter.

Under the Biden Administration and the helm of former Chair Gary Gensler, the SEC filed numerous high-profile lawsuits against crypto firms such as Kraken, Coinbase, Consensys and Ripple Labs and didn’t approve the launch of Bitcoin (BTC)-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) until pressured to do so by a judge.

Furthermore, under Gensler, the SEC counted the majority of digital assets, excluding BTC, as securities that fell under its regulatory jurisdiction.

Gensler was replaced by former SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda, who is currently serving as the agency’s Acting Chairman.

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