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The civil penalty is significantly less than the absurd $2 billion the SEC had previously demanded. XRP investors have viewed this as extremely bullish, as the cryptocurrency exploded by almost 24% after the ruling was released.
Ripple-SEC case ends with $125 million fine
Ripple has won another partial victory in its lengthy legal battle with the SEC.
In a motion filed on August 7 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Analisa Torres ordered Ripple to pay a $125 million civil penalty and ruled that 1,278 transactions violated securities laws.
“The SEC’s motion for relief and entry of final judgment is granted in part and denied in part,” Judge Torres said. “The Court will enter final judgment enjoining Ripple from further violations of the securities laws and imposing a civil penalty of $125,035,150.”
 The $125 million fine is well below the $1 billion in disgorgement and late payment interest and the $900 million civil penalty that the SEC had demanded.
Specifically, the judge barred Ripple from future violations of federal securities laws, making it clear that while she could not rule on whether Ripple had violated any laws after the SEC filed its lawsuit, the company could certainly “cross the line.”
Wednesday’s decision on remedies follows Torres’ July 2023 ruling in the case, in which she found that Ripple violated federal securities laws by selling XRP directly to institutional customers. But she also ruled that the company’s programmatic sales of XRP to retail customers through crypto exchanges did not violate securities laws.
No more headwinds from the SEC against XRP
Ripple must pay the $125 million penalty to the SEC within 30 days of the verdict. The company can transfer the payment electronically from a bank account or by certified check.
CEO Brad Garlinghouse said in an August 7 X-post that the ruling was a “victory for Ripple, the industry and the rule of law” as the court reduced the SEC’s proposed fine by an astonishing 94%. Ripple’s legal chief Stuart Alderoty indicated that the blockchain company would “respect the $125 million fine.”
“We respect the court’s decision and are confident to continue to grow our company,” Garlinghouse said. “The SEC’s backlash against the entire XRP community is over.”
There is currently a storm of optimism among XRP fans, who are convinced that the recent court victory could be the catalyst that drives the token to new all-time high prices above the coveted $3 mark.
At press time, XRP is trading at $0.6314 per coin, up 23.8% in the last 24 hours. Notably, the coin is about 81.4% below its all-time high of $3.84 set in 2018.
Is XRP on track to set a new all-time high in the foreseeable future?
