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Ripple’s chief legal officer has countered the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s allegations following the crypto firm’s proposal to limit its penalty to no more than $10 million. The legal chief highlighted that the SEC is “raging” and emphasized that, unlike the Terraform Labs case, there are no victims to compensate in Ripple’s case.
Ripple’s chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty, has publicly responded to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s allegations against the crypto firm. This response follows Ripple’s proposal to reduce its penalty in the lawsuit over XRP to no more than $10 million, a substantial decrease from the SEC’s initial demand of $2 billion. Ripple’s justification for this reduction draws comparisons to the Terraform Labs case.
Alderoty stated on social media platform X that the SEC is “raging” because Ripple has defended itself without making any concessions. He highlighted that the court has clarified that XRP is not a security under certain conditions and noted that there are no victims requiring compensation.
The SEC argues in its letter to District Judge Analisa Torres on Friday that the Ripple-XRP case fundamentally differs from the Terraform Labs case. The securities regulator pointed out that Terraform Labs agreed to several conditions, including the quick return of funds to victims, whereas Ripple has not agreed to similar terms. “Ripple is agreeing to none of this relief — in fact, Ripple is agreeing to nothing,” the SEC informed the district judge. The agency subsequently demanded $102.6 million from Ripple.
The securities regulator initially sought a $2 billion penalty as part of its ongoing legal battle with Ripple, which began in December 2020. The securities watchdog alleges Ripple raised $1.3 billion through the sale of XRP tokens, which it claims are unregistered securities. However, in a significant ruling in July 2023, Judge Torres ruled that XRP is not a security when sold to retail investors on digital asset exchanges.
