- The SEC is seeking a hefty $770 million settlement from Ripple Labs over alleged violations.
- Ripple has secured a full crypto asset license in Singapore despite ongoing legal challenges.
The ongoing legal clash between Ripple [XRP] and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) took a new turn, with the SEC demanding a significant $770 million settlement from the company. The SEC has alleged violations of federal securities laws regarding Ripple’s institutional sales of XRP.
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This added a new chapter to the long-standing SEC vs Ripple saga.
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John Deaton, an attorney, alleged that the SEC is aggressively pursuing “$770 million of meat” from Ripple. He further stated that the SEC’s intentions went beyond determining whether XRP is a security; they want to make an example of Ripple.
Deaton pointed out that the penalty phase is similar to a second case that involved more depositions and extensive legal proceedings. He believed that the crypto company is committed to significantly reducing the SEC’s proposed $770 million fine.
Drawing comparisons to the SEC’s case against LBRY, where they initially sought $23 million but ultimately settled for a $130,000 fine, Deaton suggested that Ripple could have an opportunity to substantially reduce this colossal amount.
I believe that Ripple will be successful in drastically reducing the amount from $770 million. This is not a fraud case. The aim is to achieve an appropriate penalty against Ripple for entering into transactions that qualified as the sale of unregistered securities, but sold in the context of a new…
— John E. Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) October 25, 2023
The pivotal date in this ongoing legal battle is January 17, 2024, which coincides with oral arguments on the Coinbase motion.
The outcome of this argument carries significant weight, as Deaton speculates that a win for Coinbase could force the SEC to reevaluate its strategy and potentially open doors to a settlement with Ripple.
Conversely, if Coinbase faces defeat, it could prolong the legal battle between Ripple and the SEC.
Ripple marches on
Amid the legal turbulence, Ripple has continued to make progress on several fronts. Recently, on October 3, Ripple achieved a major milestone by securing a full crypto asset license in Singapore.
This achievement was attributed to its Singaporean subsidiary, Ripple Markets APAC Pte Ltd. The company obtained a Major Payments Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
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This license allows Ripple to offer digital payment token services in Singapore.
However, these developments did not appear to have a significant impact on the price of XRP. At the time of writing, XRP was trading at $0.551 and was down 0.64% over the past 24 hours.
