Shocking Decision Again from Judge Torres in Ripple-SEC Case: XRP Legal Director Made a Statement! "The Ball is Now in Our Court"

Judge Analisa Torres of the Southern District of New York has denied the joint request of Ripple to lift the permanent injunction in its dispute with the SEC (SEC). This decision has effectively blocked a significant reduction of the $125 million penalty imposed on Ripple.

Judge Torres referenced the SEC's view that Ripple would continue to violate the law in a court ruling published today. Torres stated, "This situation has not changed and the parties do not dispute otherwise. Nevertheless, they are requesting a 60% reduction of the fine, citing public interest, and the lifting of the permanent injunction."

The parties had requested that in the event of the lifting of the permanent injunction against Ripple, 50 million dollars of the 75 million dollar fine be returned to the SEC and the remaining 25 million dollars be returned to Ripple.

The lawsuit process between the SEC and Ripple began in 2020. The SEC accused Ripple of raising $1.3 billion through the sale of unregistered securities. In July 2023, Judge Torres ruled that the "programmatic sales" of XRP to individual investors do not count as securities, but sales made directly to institutional investors will be considered as securities. This decision resulted in a $125 million penalty for Ripple.

In March, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced that the lawsuit had effectively come to an end, and the SEC had withdrawn its appeal. However, the final stages of the case focused on the reassessment of the amount of penalties imposed.

The parties had requested a reduction in the penalty, citing the change in the SEC's approach to crypto assets in the new era. Following the departure of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, who was in office during the Biden administration, in January, the agency had concluded its investigations and lawsuits against many crypto firms and had also established a cryptocurrency task force to begin working on creating a regulatory framework.

However, Judge Torres stated, "The parties cannot escape the binding nature of a court ruling by agreeing among themselves. In such cases, the existence of extraordinary circumstances must be demonstrated in terms of public interest and the establishment of justice. There is no such situation in this case."

While the SEC does not comment on the matter, Ripple's General Counsel Stuart Alderoty stated in a post on the social media platform X, "The ball is now in our court." Alderoty noted that the court presented them with two options, saying, "Withdraw our appeal regarding findings related to past institutional sales or continue with the appeal." He also stated that the decision regarding XRP not being a security has not changed.

*It is not investment advice.

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