According to Blockworks, a federal judge ordered Ripple to pay a civil penalty of $125,035,150 in its lawsuit with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC had sought $2 billion, while Ripple requested a maximum penalty of $10 million.
Judge Analisa Torres wrote in court documents on Wednesday that Ripple was ordered to cease any further violations of securities law. Torres denied the SEC's request for disgorgement and pre-judgment interest, stating that the securities regulator failed to prove the need for such compensation due to 'monetary damages'. Ripple's programmatic sales of XRP to retail customers through trading platforms did not violate federal securities law. However, Ripple's 1,278 institutional sales transactions violated securities law, resulting in a fine of $125 million, significantly lower than the SEC's request for $1 billion in disgorgement and pre-judgment interest, along with $900 million in civil penalties.
The court also required a trial in 2023 for other disputed matters, including the allegations of aiding and abetting securities law violations against CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen. However, the SEC withdrew these allegations in October.
