The U.S. SEC has updated its guidance, allowing dollar-pegged stablecoins to be classified as cash equivalents, significantly reducing regulatory uncertainty surrounding stablecoins.
According to Bloomberg, the new interim guidelines from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) clarify that stablecoins pegged to the U.S. dollar may qualify as "cash equivalents" for accounting purposes, provided they have guaranteed redemption mechanisms and their value stability is linked to another asset class.
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins spearheaded this initiative as part of ongoing efforts to eliminate restrictive measures previously imposed on the cryptocurrency market. Back in April, the SEC similarly clarified that certain dollar-pegged stablecoins are not securities and that issuers of these stablecoins do not need to register their activities with the SEC. Furthermore, Chairman Atkins’ recently introduced "Project Crypto" seeks to modernize America’s financial markets by transitioning numerous financial activities, including stablecoin accounting, onto blockchain technology.
Bernstein's global finance analysts described the SEC's latest regulatory step as an unprecedented move, potentially positioning the U.S. as a global leader in financial innovation.
