A judge has agreed to delay enforcing the $125 million civil penalty imposed on Ripple, cracking open the door for a potential appeal in the payment firm’s longstanding legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
On Thursday, District Judge Analisa Torres ordered a stay on the monetary portion of the case’s final judgment after Ripple filed a request for one that the SEC consented to.
The firm’s $125 million penalty was originally due Friday, September 6th after Torres imposed it in an order last month.
Instead, Ripple will now deposit 111% of the penalty ($138.75 million) into an interest-earning account in the name of the firm’s lawyers.
The company will retain accrued interest and beneficial ownership of the account but won’t have control over the funds.
The account will unlock if a higher court reverses Torres’ judgment or both parties agree the funds should go towards Ripple’s penalty. Torres’ stay will last for 30 days after the appeal deadline in October if neither Ripple nor the SEC file an appeal, or 30 days after a decision by the Court of Appeals.
The SEC first sued the San Francisco-based payments firm in late 2020 for allegedly selling XRP as an unregistered security.
Last year, Torres ruled that Ripple’s automated, open-market sales of XRP did not constitute security offerings, contrary to what the SEC alleged.
The judge did, however, side with the SEC’s claim that Ripple’s sales of XRP directly to institutional buyers were securities offerings.
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