A federal judge has ordered Ripple Labs to pay a $125 million civil penalty and said the firm was “permanently restrained and enjoined” from violating United States securities laws as part of a case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In an Aug. 7 filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Analisa Torres found Ripple liable for more than $125 million, which it was expected to pay to the SEC within 30 days. The judgment came following competing motions between Ripple and the financial regulator, which argued that the firm should pay a maximum civil penalty of $10 million or $2 billion, respectively.
“Based on the Court’s independent analysis of Ripple’s expert report summarizing the relevant contracts [...] the Court finds that 1,278 transactions violated Section 5, resulting in a civil penalty of $125,035,150,” said the filing.
Regarding the injunction preventing Ripple from future violations of securities laws, Judge Torres suggested that the firm’s sales after the SEC complaint was filed may not have violated federal law, but “there is a reasonable probability of future violations.”
“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,” said Judge Torres.
“Victory for Ripple”
In an Aug. 7 X post, CEO Brad Garlinghouse suggested that the ruling was a “victory for Ripple, the industry and the rule of law” given the court reduced the SEC’s proposed penalty by 94%. Ripple chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty said the company would “respect the $125 million fine.”
“We respect the Court’s decision and have clarity to continue growing our company,” said Garlinghouse. “The SEC’s headwinds against the whole of the XRP community are gone.”
Related: ‘Ripple is well-positioned to pay a significant civil penalty,‘ says SEC
The ruling seemingly puts Ripple’s case with the SEC in its final stages since the regulator initially filed the lawsuit in December 2020. At the time, the SEC alleged that Ripple used XRP (XRP) as an unregistered security to raise funds. In July 2023, Judge Torres ruled that the XRP token was not a security regarding programmatic sales on exchanges.
The SEC initially targeted Garlinghouse and Ripple executive chair Chris Larsen in the same lawsuit before the commission moved to dismiss all claims in 2023. The price of XRP rose roughly 24% immediately following the ruling’s public release, from $0.50 to $0.62.
Magazine: SEC drops Ether probe but still seeks billions in penalties from Ripple: Hodler’s Digest, June 16-22