Ripple hit with $125m fine for securities violations; XRP surges 18% post-ruling

As a seasoned crypto investor with a keen eye for market trends and regulatory developments, I find myself both intrigued and cautiously optimistic following the recent ruling on Ripple Labs. The $125 million fine may seem substantial, but considering the SEC’s initial demand of $2 billion, it is a significant victory for Ripple and the broader crypto industry.


In a recent court ruling, United States District Judge Analisa Torres has levied a penalty of $125 million against Ripple Labs due to their alleged infractions of securities regulations.

On August 7th, Judge Torres ruled in his decision that approximately 1,278 transactions involving Ripple (XRP) violated Section 5 of the U.S. Securities Act.

As a researcher, I’d like to share an update regarding the recent court ruling on Ripple. Besides imposing a fine of $125 million, Judge Torres also issued an injunction prohibiting Ripple from any future violations of federal securities laws. This decision was made with Ripple’s “demand on liquidity” offering in mind, as the judge believed this could potentially exceed the boundaries set by the federal securities provisions. In simpler terms, the judge felt that Ripple might have crossed a line defined by the federal securities law with their “demand on liquidity” offering, and thus issued an injunction to prevent any future potential violations.

According to Judge Torres’ ruling, Ripple must officially declare their plans if they intend to sell securities in the future, a step that guarantees compliance for all future transactions.

As a crypto investor, I’ve been closely following the developments surrounding the case between me (and other investors) and Ripple Labs, which dates back to December 2020. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) initiated a lawsuit against Ripple Labs, alleging that their sale of XRP was an unlawful offering of securities. Now, I’m waiting for the final verdict on this long-running legal battle.

In this court case, the Securities and Exchange Commission argued that Ripple had sold over $1.3 billion worth of XRP tokens without initially registering them as securities, which is mandatory according to American federal regulations.

In July 2023, Judge Torres partially sided with Ripple in a case regarding their sales of XRP. He decided that Ripple’s sales to individual customers via cryptocurrency exchanges did not break federal securities regulations. However, he emphasized that Ripple’s sales to institutional entities did indeed violate the same laws.

After this discovery, the SEC petitioned the court for a reimbursement of approximately $1 billion (disgorgement) and an additional $900 million in civil fines against Ripple.

Despite Judge Torres imposing a penalty significantly less than the SEC’s request, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse sees this decision as a triumph for Ripple and the broader cryptocurrency sector, given that it is over 90% lower than what was initially sought by the SEC.

As a researcher involved in this situation, I can express it this way: Initially, the SEC sought $2 billion from us. However, the Court saw fit to significantly decrease their request by approximately 94%, acknowledging that they may have acted imprudently. We hold the Court’s judgment in high regard and are now better equipped to move forward with our company’s growth.

— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) August 7, 2024

As a crypto investor, I followed the recent court’s decision regarding Ripple closely. Notably, Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s chief legal officer, also weighed in on this matter on his platform. He emphasized that no charges of fraud or intentional misconduct have been leveled against Ripple, and more importantly, he stated that no financial damage resulting from the XRP sale has been reported to date.

The Court’s Decision: The Court finds the Securities and Exchange Commission’s claim that Ripple acted negligently to be unfounded. It is important to note that this case does not involve accusations of fraudulent or intentionally harmful actions, and no one has incurred any financial losses as a result. The Court also denies the SEC’s excessive request for $2B in…

— Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) August 7, 2024

In light of the recent ruling, I’ve noticed a significant surge in the value of XRP, with an impressive 18% increase. At the moment, it’s trading at $0.6051. Over the last 30 days, this price represents a robust 39% uptick, while over the past week, it has shown a more gradual but still notable 0.7% growth.

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2024-08-08 09:50