Ripple seeks stay on $125 million SEC payout, signals potential appeal

Ripple seeks stay on $125 million SEC payout, signals potential appeal

Sep 05,2024

Ripple has requested a stay on the monetary portion of a recent judgment requiring the company to pay $125 million to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

This request was made in a Sept. 4 filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

According to the filing, Ripple’s legal team stated that the SEC agreed to delay the payment beyond Sept. 6. Under the agreement, Ripple proposed depositing 111% of the judgment amount—about $139 million—into a bank account. This sum will remain there until 30 days after the appeal period expires or until the resolution of any appeal.

The filing also noted that post-judgment interest would accrue in favor of the SEC during this time. Ripple will maintain beneficial ownership of the funds without control, including any interest accumulating from the deposit.

The legal teams emphasized that this agreement protects both parties’ interests. It ensures the SEC will have access to the funds if necessary while allowing Ripple to avoid the costs and inconvenience of posting a bond for the full judgment amount.

Appeal speculation

Some experts believe this filing signals a potential appeal from the SEC. Pro- XRP lawyer Fred Rispoli commented that the odds of an appeal have increased given the case’s complexity.

He stated :

“This is not a guarantee that there will be an appeal, but putting that kind of money in a trust is not something that is done unless SEC is being evasive to Ripple lawyers as to whether it intends on appealing. Again, still possible that no appeal happens but odds have increased.”

Rispoli reassured the XRP community that a potential SEC appeal wouldn’t significantly affect the token, adding that a ruling wouldn’t occur until 2026. He further noted that the SEC’s recent lawsuits against exchanges and its classification of multiple tokens as securities have lessened the potential impact on XRP.

He stated :

“If Ripple and/or XRP don’t make it now, it’s not because of the SEC’s case.”