Ripple Challenges SEC’s $2 Billion Fine in Ongoing Legal Battle
Ripple Labs has objected to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) proposed $2 billion penalty in their ongoing legal dispute, citing the Terraform Labs-SEC agreement as a comparison. The SEC had demanded this hefty fine from Ripple for its XRP sales to institutional investors.
Ripple’s legal team argued that the $2 billion penalty was excessive, especially when compared to the $4.47 million penalty requested from Terraform Labs. They suggested that a fair penalty for Ripple should be closer to $10 million, considering the company’s gross sales.
In their objection, Ripple’s lawyers highlighted that the requested fine represented only 1.27% of the defendant’s gross sales, whereas the SEC had accepted fines ranging from 0.6% to 1.8% in other cases. They emphasized that the SEC’s proposed penalty was unjustified, especially since there were no allegations of fraud in the Ripple case and institutional buyers did not suffer significant losses.
As the SEC-Ripple (XRP) case nears its conclusion, legal experts anticipate a final decision by July, unless the SEC takes unexpected action. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse recently predicted that the lawsuit could be resolved by the end of the summer, possibly even sooner.
In an interview, Garlinghouse acknowledged the implications of XRP being classified as a security in the US, noting that it would restrict trading on most crypto platforms in the country. However, he emphasized that the SEC’s jurisdiction was limited to the US and would not impact global trading.
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