The post Ripple to Pay $125 Million Fine for Unregistered XRP Sales appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

A New York court on Wednesday ordered fintech company Ripple to pay a $125 million fine in its lawsuit with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). But the civil penalty is significantly less than the $2 billion sought by the SEC in the long-running feud between the crypto giant and the Wall Street watchdog. U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres ordered the fine, ruling that 1,278 transactions broke securities laws, according to court documents filed today.  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 The ruling comes after the SEC sued Ripple back in 2020, alleging that the company sold unregistered securities in the form of XRP.  Ripple—whose founders were behind XRP—has been locked in a legal battle with the SEC for years. But last year, Ripple scored a partial court win against the SEC when a judge ruled that programmatic sales of XRP to retail investors did not qualify as securities. Though the judge also said that $728 million worth of contracts for institutional sales did constitute unregistered securities sales, the ruling sent shockwaves through the industry.  The regulator faced ongoing criticism from politicians and the crypto industry for cracking down unfairly on the digital asset industry, and the ruling was seen as a success story for the digital asset ecosystem.  Investors have also interpreted today’s ruling as a win for the crypto industry as the fine is significantly smaller than what the SEC had sought. As a result, the price of XRP shot up by over 18% after the news dropped. It…

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Filed under: News - @ August 9, 2024 11:24 am