Judge Analisa Torres of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York has ordered Ripple to pay $125 million to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on August 7. The firm must make the transaction within 30 days of its judgment. Ripple had previously argued that the fine must not exceed $10 million as the SEC demanded $2 billion.
A court filing mentioned that “Ripple is liable for a civil penalty in the amount of $125,035,150 pursuant to Section 20(d) of the Securities Act.” It added, “Defendant shall satisfy this obligation by paying $125,035,150 to the Securities and Exchange Commission within 30 days after entry of this Final Judgment.”
Furthermore, the judgment prevents Ripple from breaking securities laws henceforth. “Ripple Labs, Inc., is permanently restrained and enjoined from violating Section 5 of the Securities Act.” While the judge has declared the SEC’s allegations about Ripple selling unregistered securities not binding, she feels that the firm pushes the lines while selling its XRP tokens. That warrants her to believe Ripple may operate beyond the bounds of the Securities Act if appropriate restrictions are not set.
Nevertheless, Ripple’s founder, Brad Garlinghouse, celebrated the court’s decision. He wrote on X, “The SEC asked for $2B, and the Court reduced their demand by ~94% recognizing that they had overplayed their hand. We respect the Court’s decision and have clarity to continue growing our company.” The post continued, “This is a victory for Ripple, the industry and the rule of law. The SEC’s headwinds against the whole of the XRP community are gone.”
Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s chief legal officer, also posted about the court’s decision on X. They said, “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.”
XRP saw a 26% gain on August 7 as news broke of the judgment.