XRP Lawsuit Victory for Ripple? Court Orders SEC to Reduce Fine by "94%"

In the ongoing legal battle over the security status of the cryptocurrency XRP between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple, a U.S. court has ordered Ripple to pay a fine of $125 million.

This ruling is part of the lawsuit that has been ongoing for about four years between the SEC and Ripple. The court has determined that "1,278 transactions of XRP sales conducted by Ripple to institutional investors constitute a violation of securities laws."

While Ripple has been fined $125 million in this ruling, the fine represents only 6.25% of the $2 billion penalty initially sought by the SEC. Therefore, this order is being viewed as a "victory for Ripple."

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, commented on the ruling in a post on the 8th, stating, "This is a victory for Ripple, the industry, and the rule of law, and it signifies the end of the SEC’s headwinds against the entire XRP community."

Additionally, the ruling mandates that Ripple "must not violate securities laws in the future," with Judge Analisa Torres stating the following:

To be clear, the Court has not held today that Ripple's post-complaint sales violated Section 5. However, Ripple's willingness to push the boundaries of the order indicates that it may eventually cross the line, if it has not already.

In the lawsuit over the security status of XRP, the SEC claimed that "the sale of XRP constitutes the sale of unregistered securities," whereas the Southern District Court of New York determined that "XRP itself does not qualify as a security, but the sale of XRP to institutional investors violates securities laws."

This view is based on the idea that "while XRP itself is not a security, the method of its sale can change the judgment," and the fine order reflects this judgment.

Given that the fine amount is significantly lower than what the SEC had sought, some speculate that the SEC might appeal the decision. However, in response to this news, the price of XRP has surged by approximately 20% over the past 24 hours.

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