With Ripple expected to pay the SEC a fine of $50 million for violating federal securities laws, the company’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, suggests that the payment could be in XRP.
Garlinghouse made this suggestion during a recent interview on FOX Business’ Claman Countdown, where he provided insights into Ripple’s settlement with the SEC.
Ripple Could Pay SEC Fine in XRP
During the interview, he revealed how Ripple could pay the agreed $50 million fine to the SEC. Recall that in August 2024, Judge Analisa Torres ordered Ripple to pay $125 million as fine for offering XRP to institutional clients without registering the sales with the U.S. SEC.
Notably, Ripple complied with this order last year. However, it deposited the entire $125 million into an interest-bearing account, pending the resolution of the parties’ appeals.
Following the SEC’s recent policy shift, which saw the regulator dismiss most of its crypto-related enforcement actions, the agency reached an agreement with Ripple to have the company drop its cross-appeal.
According to Ripple, while the SEC will drop its appeal without any condition, it will dismiss its cross-appeal for a reduced fine of $50 million and a dismissal of the permanent injunction.
Interestingly, Ripple disclosed that the parties even discussed paying the fine in XRP instead of USD, as many expect. However, he did not disclose whether the SEC consented to the proposal.
At press time, the XRP equivalent of the $50 million fine is 24.63 million XRP based on the current value of $2.03 per coin.
The settlement terms, including the potential payment of the $50 million fine in XRP, still need the commission’s approval. SEC commissioners are expected to vote on the decision during an internal closed-door meeting.
Will Ripple’s $50M Fine Be Added to Digital Asset Stockpile?
In the meantime, the possibility of Ripple paying the SEC’s fine in XRP has raised several questions. Specifically, some investors quizzed whether the $50 million fine in XRP would be automatically added to the U.S. digital asset stockpile.
Last month, President Trump ordered the creation of a Bitcoin-only reserve and a digital asset stockpile that will contain altcoins. Prior to this order, Trump mentioned XRP among the cryptos that could be included in the digital asset stockpile initiative.
However, the executive order clarified that funds obtained through civil and criminal forfeitures will be used to finance the reserve. This is part of an effort to ensure that the reserve initiative does not cost taxpayers a dime.
The U.S. government currently has over $16 billion worth of crypto in a blockchain wallet that holds forfeited assets. The portfolio includes top cryptos like BTC, ETH, USDT, and BNB.
However, XRP is not among the cryptos the government holds. Based on Ripple’s discussions with the SEC about paying the $50 million fine in XRP, the U.S. government could finally have some XRP coins for its digital asset stockpile.
It remains to be seen whether the SEC will accept the $50 million fine in XRP or whether the government will include the funds in its digital asset stockpile.
