SEC Files Billion Dollar Fine Claim Against Ripple Labs

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has set its sights on a whopping $2 billion fine against Ripple Labs, the driving force behind the cryptocurrency XRP. This bold move, announced by Ripple’s chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty, marks yet another chapter in the ongoing confrontation between regulators and crypto entities.

Alderoty shared insights into the SEC’s demand, saying, “As you will see when the SEC summary is made public tomorrow, they are asking the judge for $2 billion in fines and sanctions. Our answer will be available next month, but as we have all seen time and time again, this is a regulator that operates on statements that are false, ill-defined and designed to mislead. They stayed true to form here too. Instead of faithfully enforcing the law, the SEC continues to attempt to punish and intimidate Ripple and the industry at large. We believe the court will approach the resolution phase fairly.”

As you will see when the SEC’s brief is made public tomorrow, they ask the Judge for $2B in fines and penalties. 1/4 https://t.co/HM8dBbn7lp

— Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) March 25, 2024

On the other hand, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse also expressed his outrage and disappointment with the SEC’s actions. Garlinghouse criticized Gary Gensler’s leadership of the SEC, pointing to a history of questionable decisions and abuse of authority.

“The SEC, led by Gensler, has repeatedly acted outside the law, admonished by judges for ‘gross abuse of the authority entrusted to it by Congress’ (DEBT Box case) and for acting ‘without faithful adherence to the law’ (Ripple case). Let’s also not forget Gensler’s indifference to the FTX scam. The SEC plans to ask the judge for $2 billion in a case that contains no allegations (much less findings) of fraud or recklessness. There is absolutely no precedent for this. We will continue to disclose what the SEC is about as we respond to this.”

This dispute is not just a battle over numbers, but rather a reflection of growing tensions between regulatory authorities and the dynamic world of cryptocurrencies. The crypto community eagerly awaits the next chapters of this confrontation, as it could have significant implications for future regulation and adoption of crypto assets.

At the time of publication, the price of XRP was quoted at US$0.6514 with an increase of 3% in the last 24 hours.

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