Ripple Wins Partial Victory: Court Dismisses SEC’s Comprehensive Lawsuit and Imposes $125 Million Fine

Ripple has achieved a partial victory in its lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as the U.S. judicial system dismissed all charges brought by the SEC. This development brightens the outlook for XRP.

A new court ruling reveals that as part of the ongoing legal battle between the cryptocurrency company Ripple and the SEC, Ripple has been ordered to pay a $125 million fine.

“The SEC’s motion for remedies and final judgment is granted in part and denied in part. The court will issue a final judgment prohibiting Ripple from further violations of securities laws and imposing a civil penalty of $125,035,150,”

the document states.

SEC’s Case Partially Successful

The fine is significantly lower than the $2 billion initially sought by the SEC, which included $876 million in illicit gains, $200 million in prejudgment interest, and additional penalties.

However, Judge Analisa Torres, who is overseeing the case, did not fully side with the SEC in its lawsuit against Ripple.

In a written order on August 7, Judge Torres dismissed the SEC’s requests for disgorgement of illicit gains and prejudgment interest, citing that the SEC’s evidence of harm to institutional investors was “speculative.”

Previously, the SEC had relied on the Ahmed case to support its claims against Ripple, where the SEC had won disgorgement of illicit gains. However, the new ruling dismissed this precedent. Judge Torres ruled that, unlike the Ahmed case, the Ripple case lacked the same level of specific harm.

The document also reiterated that while Ripple’s institutional sales of its native token XRP constituted unregistered securities offerings, the sale of XRP on public exchanges did not violate securities laws.

In addition to the fine, Ripple has been ordered to cease any future violations of securities laws.

Despite the fine being higher than the $10 million proposed by Ripple, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse stated that the court’s decision is a victory for the company, the industry, and the rule of law.

Brad’s Triumph

Garlinghouse recently posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the fine reflects the SEC’s “overreach.” The Ripple CEO believes the ruling provides clear guidance for Ripple to continue its growth and operations, which is a positive outcome for both the company and the industry.

Many members of the cryptocurrency community and industry experts have welcomed the recent court ruling. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart described the ruling as a failure of the SEC’s “regulation by enforcement” approach.

He agreed with Garlinghouse’s view, suggesting that the court’s decision to reduce the penalties indicates that the SEC’s aggressive stance may not be as effective as previously thought.

According to CoinGecko, the price of XRP surged over 25% to $0.63 following the court’s decision. As of the time of writing, XRP is priced at around $0.61. However, the cryptocurrency is still down about 80% from its all-time high in 2018.

Sentiment: Positive