Ripple Requests Stay on $125M SEC Judgment, Sparking Appeal Speculation

TLDR:

• Ripple requests stay on $125 million SEC judgment payment
• Filing hints at potential SEC appeal of recent court rulings
• Ripple proposes depositing 111% ($139 million) into bank account during appeal period
• XRP price hovering around $0.56, future trend depends on appeal decision
• Legal experts predict no significant ruling until 2026 if appealed

Cryptocurrency firm Ripple has requested a stay on the $125 million judgment it was ordered to pay the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to a recent court filing.

This move has sparked speculation about a potential appeal in the long-running legal battle between Ripple and the SEC.

In a September 4 filing with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Ripple’s legal team stated that the SEC had agreed to delay the payment beyond the original September 6 deadline.

Under the proposed agreement, Ripple would deposit 111% of the judgment amount – approximately $139 million – into a bank account. This sum would remain there until 30 days after the appeal period expires or until any appeal is resolved.

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

Both parties’ legal teams emphasized that this agreement protects their respective interests.

This development comes after an August 7 court ruling that ordered Ripple to pay $125 million to the SEC. At the time, Ripple executives hailed the decision as a victory, with CEO Brad Garlinghouse stating the company would “respect the $125 million fine.”

The recent filing, however, appears to lay groundwork for a potential appeal by the SEC. Under court guidelines, either side has 60 days to file an appeal “if the United States or an officer or agency of the United States is a party.”

The possibility of an appeal has drawn mixed reactions from legal experts. Pro-XRP lawyer Fred Rispoli commented that while the odds of an appeal have increased given the case’s complexity, it wouldn’t significantly affect the XRP token. Rispoli predicted that a ruling wouldn’t occur until 2026 if appealed.

#SECvRipple Update: Well, the odds have increased of an appeal. @Ripple and SEC have agreed to an arrangement where 111% of monetary judgment will be held in trust, to be paid to SEC only on (1) 30 days after appeal deadline or (2) after appeal concludes. This is not a…1/2

— Fred Rispoli (@freddyriz) September 4, 2024

“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,” Rispoli stated.

He added that the SEC’s recent lawsuits against exchanges and its classification of multiple tokens as securities have lessened the potential impact on XRP.

The legal dispute between Ripple and the SEC dates back to December 2020, when the SEC filed a complaint alleging that Ripple used XRP as an unregistered security to raise funds.

In July 2023, Judge Analisa Torres ruled that the XRP token was not a security regarding programmatic sales on exchanges.

As of the latest reports, XRP was trading at around $0.56, having risen approximately 0.15% in the last 30 days.

Market analysts suggest that future price trends will likely hinge on whether the SEC decides to appeal the recent rulings. Some speculate that XRP could drop below $0.40 if the SEC appeals, while a decision not to appeal might push the price towards $1.00.