The counterions appearing in the mechanism of the cationic polymerization are able to decay according toand so give rise to termination reactions. For the model systems (C,H,),C"MtXf + , (Mt = B, Al, Sn, P, As, Sb,In, Ti, Fe; X = F, C1, Br) the decay has been investigated by spectroscopic and conductometric methods. The overall decay rate constant k, is hardly influenced by traces of water (cH2,, < mol. 1-I ) and by structure variations of the cation. On the other hand, k, increases by decreasing the concentration of the salt. When the structure is vaned k, increases with decreasing donor strength of the ligands X, the sensitivity of the anion to changes in the ligand sphere increases corresponding to the ionization potential of the central atom Mt. Addition of tetracyanoethylene raises the stability of the anions. The results can be. explained by the HSAB principle and fit well in a scheme of stabilization of anions by acceptors.