Ripple Labs executives celebrate a significant win as Federal Judge Analisa Torres has ordered the firm to pay $125M as a settlement fine to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) following her ruling on the SEC’s Motion for Remedies.

The ruling released in an Aug. 7 filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York read, “The SEC’s motion for remedies and the entry of final judgment is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. The Court shall enter a final judgment enjoining Ripple from further violations of the securities laws and imposing a civil penalty of $125,035,150.”

Ripple emerges with a favorable outcome, as the agreed-upon settlement amount is significantly lower than the SEC’s initial demand of $2 billion.

Following the court order to pay $125M to the US SEC, Ripple’s native token, XRP, soared by 18%. The token went from $0.5183 to $0.6128. At press time, according to data on CoinmarketCap, XRP sells at $0.61.

Ripple Reaches Settlement with SEC, Ending Four-Year Dispute

The Ripple vs. SEC case has been ongoing for years after the US SEC sued the company for fraud in 2020. 

The SEC claimed Ripple, CEO Brad Garlinghouse, and co-founder Chris Larsen violated federal security law by conducting an unregistered securities offering in 2013 through the sale of XRP to investors. As a result of the unregistered sales, Ripple generated proceeds of over $1.3 billion.

The case concluded with a mixed outcome. Both parties secured partial wins, but the SEC persisted in pursuing additional penalties, leading to ongoing litigation into 2024.

The ongoing legal proceedings did not diminish XRP’s performance. Recently, whale wallets holding at least 10,000 XRP tokens recorded an increase.

With the recent court ruling, the protracted legal dispute between Ripple and the SEC has finally ended, with the former paying a $125 million settlement.

In a recent tweet, Ripple’s CEO took to X to express the company’s satisfaction and respect for the court’s decision.

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.

This is a victory for Ripple, the industry and the rule of law. The SEC’s…

— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) August 7, 2024

Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer, Stuart Alderoty, followed suit, expressing a comparable perspective. He also added that Judge Torres mentioned that the case lacks underlying evidence of fraudulent, deceptive, or manipulative activities.