A legal battle between the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple Labs over XRP sales has ended with a $102 million settlement. The SEC’s decision follows a significant shift in cryptocurrency oversight by the United States government as the election approaches. This controversial case has been going on for almost three years.
Settlement Between SEC and Ripple
Last week, the regulator announced a settlement between Terraform Labs and the insolvent Terraform. The two parties agreed on a $4.47 billion settlement, which current data indicates the business may be unable to pay.
Based on that, Ripple Labs filed a notice of Supplemental Authority requesting that the court dismiss the fine. The blockchain payment firm contended that the SEC, led by Gary Gensler, has a history of levying disproportionate penalties. In addition, the firm stated that the $2 billion demanded by the SEC is excessive, given the amount of trade engaged in the litigation.
Why We’ll Never Have One Dominant Stablecoin? Ripple CTO InsightsCourt Ruling Clarifies XRP’s Status
Alderoty emphasizes the importance of the court’s ruling on XRP’s categorization. He claims that the court has offered clarification, suggesting that XRP is not a security. This decision is critical for Ripple and the larger cryptocurrency sector because it might establish a precedent for how digital assets are treated under securities legislation.
Stuart Alderoty Insights
Ripple CLO Stuart Alderoty stated that Ripple and XRP have become popular since the court declared that digital assets are not secure. Most crucially, Alderoty admitted that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has reduced its demand from $2 billion to around $102 million.
On June 16th, Stuart Alderoty also stated in his X post,
The SEC is raging. Ripple defended itself – “agreeing to nothing.” The court gave clarity that XRP is not a security. There are no “victims” to compensate. And worst of all for the SEC, Ripple is thriving. But at least SEC seems to have abandoned its absurd demand for $2B.
Notably, Ripple has continued to lobby for a $10 million fine settlement rather than the larger penalties recommended by the U.S. SEC. In its response letter, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission requested the court to consider awarding $102.6 million for the $876.3 million in XRP sales deemed to have breached securities laws.
