Ripple makes 3 demands to SEC for equal XRP treatment with Bitcoin

Ripple asked the SEC to classify XRP alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum as a non-security and to let stablecoins serve as eligible collateral.

Ripple submitted a letter to the SEC's Crypto Task Force on May 27 urging the agency to classify XRP and other non-securities on equal regulatory footing with Bitcoin and Ethereum, and to recognize stablecoins as eligible collateral.

"The current regulatory framework creates an artificial hierarchy among digital assets that has no basis in law or market structure," Stuart Alderoty, chief legal officer at Ripple, said in the letter addressed to the SEC Crypto Task Force.

The letter makes three specific requests: that XRP and other tokens without an issuer-investor relationship be treated as non-securities like Bitcoin and Ethereum; that stablecoins be recognized as eligible collateral for regulated entities; and that the SEC provide a clear framework for determining when a token transitions from security to non-security status. XRP trades at $1.37 as of 14:00 UTC, down 63% from its July 2025 peak of $3.65, according to CoinGecko.

The SEC Crypto Task Force, established under Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda, has been reviewing digital asset classification since March. A formal rule or guidance could arrive before year-end, though the timeline depends partly on whether the CLARITY Act — which would codify XRP's commodity status into federal law — passes the Senate floor vote expected in June or July.

The Broader Regulatory Context

The letter lands as a wider fight over crypto regulation intensifies in Washington. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) pressed the OCC on May 18 over its approval of national trust bank charters for nine crypto firms including Ripple, Coinbase, and Circle, arguing the approvals violated the National Bank Act. The Digital Chamber, a crypto trade group, pushed back in a letter to OCC Comptroller Jonathan Gould on May 20, urging the agency to defend the charters.

One day after Warren's letter, President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing six federal regulators — including the Treasury, Fed, OCC, FDIC, SEC, and CFTC — to review and streamline fintech and crypto rules within 120 days. The order specifically told the Fed to evaluate master account access for non-bank crypto firms, a move that could give crypto companies direct access to the Federal Reserve's payment rails.

For XRP holders, the SEC letter is the latest in a series of regulatory moves that could clarify the token's legal status. But Ripple's corporate growth — its prime brokerage arm Ripple Prime now clears more than $3 trillion annually — has not translated into XRP price gains. The token has fallen from above $2 to around $1.38 over the past year even as Ripple Prime's revenue tripled, a gap that shows company performance does not automatically lift token value.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.