Categories: U.S. Regulation

XRP up 20% After Judge Fines Ripple $125M, Ending Four-Year-Long Lawsuit with SEC

District Judge Analisa Torres, of the Southern District of New York, imposed the fine after finding that 1,278 institutional sale transactions by Ripple violated securities law, leading to the fine. The $125.035 million fine is well below the $1 billion in disgorgement and prejudgment interest and $900 million in civil penalties the SEC sought.

Wednesday’s order on remedies follows the judge’s July 2023 ruling in the case itself, finding that Ripple violated federal securities laws through its direct sale of XRP to institutional clients, though she also ruled that Ripple’s programmatic sales of XRP to retail clients through exchanges did not violate any securities laws. The SEC tried unsuccessfully to appeal that portion of the ruling while the case was ongoing.

Judge Torres also banned Ripple from future violations of federal securities laws on Wednesday, saying that while she isn’t making a judgement that Ripple has violated any laws after the SEC filed its lawsuit, the company may well “cross the line” in a section referring to Ripple’s “on demand liquidity” offerings.

“Rather, the Court finds that Ripple’s willingness to push the boundaries of the Order evinces a likelihood that it will eventually (if it has not already) cross the line,” she said. “On balance, the Court finds that there is a reasonable probability of future violations, meriting the issuance of an injunction.”

The injunction document requires Ripple to file a registration statement if it intends to sell any securities. The SEC is likely to appeal the July 2023 ruling now that the judge has imposed a sentence, after the same judge denied the SEC’s motion for an interlocutory appeal last year.

The SEC and Ripple settled charges tied to CEO Brad Garlinghouse and other executives after that interlocutory appeal was denied.

Ripple’s chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty, commented on social media platform X on Wednesday: “A final judgment. The court rejects the SEC’s suggestion that Ripple acted recklessly and she reminds the SEC that this case did not involve any allegations of fraud or intentional wrongdoing, and no one suffered any financial harm. She rejects the SEC’s absurd demand for $2B in fines and penalties. We respect the $125M fine the court has imposed for certain historic sales to sophisticated third parties.” The price of XRP rose 10 cents, or around 20%, after the judgement was published.

Terron Gold