The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued new guidance allowing broker-dealers to apply a 2 percent collateral haircut to stablecoins they hold themselves, The Block reported on Thursday.

The Block said the move effectively lowers the regulatory hurdle compared with the practice of some brokers applying a 100 percent haircut to stablecoins.

A collateral haircut is a risk-adjustment ratio applied when using an asset as collateral, and it is set higher when volatility is greater. The guidance issued by the SEC's Trading and Markets division is intended to reduce the burden of holding stablecoins in the process of applying customer asset protection rules.

Fintech strategist Tonya Evans (토냐 에반스) assessed that a 2 percent haircut is on par with money market funds holding similar underlying assets such as U.S. Treasuries, cash and short-term Treasuries. Luigi Donorio DeMeo (루이지 도노리오 데메오), former chief operating officer of Avalanche, predicted the move would remove a key friction point in integrating stablecoins with traditional finance, leading to improved liquidity and more efficient payments.

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce (헤스터 피어스) said stablecoins are an essential element for blockchain-based transactions, and that broker-dealers will be able to expand their businesses more broadly related to tokenised securities and crypto assets.

The SEC has recently continued moves friendly to the crypto industry. Examples include operating a crypto task force, 추진 of a "Project Crypto" for regulatory modernisation, and reviewing innovation exemption measures for integrating tokenised capital markets.