On Wednesday, August 7, Judge Analisa Torres announced the final XRP lawsuit verdict in the SEC vs Ripple lawsuit.
The Federal Judge of the Southern District of New York, Analisa Torres ordered Ripple to pay $125 million for violating federal securities law. This decision ends a long lawsuit against the SEC. It is a significant milestone in the case that started in December 2020, when the SEC accused Ripple of selling unregistered securities through its crypto token, XRP. In response to the August 7 court verdict, XRP rallied from a low of $0.4922 to a high of $0.6437.
XRP Lawsuit Verdict: $125 Million Fine
In the XRP Lawsuit verdict, Judge Torres imposed a penalty of $125,035,150 on Ripple for selling unregistered XRP to institutional investors, much lower than the SEC’s proposed $876,308,712. The penalty was based on a first-tier civil violation, with no fraud, deceit, manipulation, or recklessness involved. The SEC had also sought a disgorgement of about $1,100,000,000 in the SEC vs Ripple lawsuit.
Defense attorney James K. Filan shared the court’s decision on the SEC’s requests regarding Ripple’s violations of the US Securities Act. The SEC sought an injunction relief(a court order to stop certain actions), Return of profits made illegally, and Civil penalties.
Key rulings:
Granted: SEC’s request for an injunction.
Denied: SEC’s request for disgorgement and prejudgment interest.
Partially Granted: SEC’s request for a civil monetary penalty.
Ripple’s Reaction to the XRP Lawsuit Verdict
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse reacted to the verdict, stating that the SEC wanted Ripple to pay $2 billion, but the court said that was too much and only made Ripple pay a small part of that. Ripple is happy with the decision and can now focus on growing its business. This is good news for Ripple and the whole cryptocurrency industry.
Also, Stuart Alderoty, the Chief Legal Officer of Ripple supported the XRP lawsuit verdict in the post on X, that the court said Ripple didn’t do anything wrong and there was no cheating or hurting anyone. The government wanted Ripple to pay a huge amount of money, but the court said that was too much and only made Ripple pay a smaller amount.
In August 2023, the SEC filed a request to appeal the ruling on Programmatic Sales of XRP. Judge Torres rejected this request in October 2023, delaying the appeal until the final verdict.
Now that Judge Torres has given the final verdict, the SEC can appeal the Programmatic Sales ruling and other decisions.
According to the Pro-crypto lawyer MetaLawMan, “both sides will appeal”.
The SEC might appeal the Programmatic Sales ruling, the remedies-related rulings, or both.
XRP Lawsuit Verdict: Effect on XRP
In response to the August 7 XRP Lawsuit verdict, the crypto market’s reaction was positive. XRP surges from a low of $0.4922 to a high of $0.6437. The moderate gains show investors to be reassured by the XRP lawsuit verdict and the clarity provided by the court’s decision.
During the Programmatic Sales of XRP ruling in July 2023, XRP rallied from sub-$0.50 to a high of $0.9327. Investors might expect potential appeals but should remain alert, as appeals could adversely affect XRP price trends.
Judge Torres’s XRP lawsuit verdict fined Ripple $125 million and imposed future restrictions. This ended a difficult period for the company. This decision could greatly impact the crypto industry by setting new rules for how digital tokens are regulated. Also, there is a slight increase in the price of XRP, following the XRP lawsuit verdict on August 7. Investors seem to be relieved by the resolution of the long-term lawsuit. XRP lawsuit verdict clarifies Ripple’s position in the market and strengthens its determination to promote crypto adoption.
However, the crypto market is highly volatile in nature. One should do their own research and seek financial advice before investing in any cryptocurrency.
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