SEC Says Stablecoins Aren’t Securities That Require Registration

Stablecoin issuers and exchanges got a boost Friday from the Securities and Exchange Commission after the agency’s staff determined that the assets, generally, aren’t securities.

That means they won’t have to be registered with the markets regulator.

The determination applies as long as a crypto asset is backed by a stable currency such as the US dollar, a commodity like gold or a pool of other assets, the staff said in a statement.

“The SEC just drew a clear line: stablecoins backed 1-for-1 with high quality liquid assets — like USDC — are NOT securities,” Heath Tarbert, president of ...