Ripple, a cross-border payment protocol, disputed the SEC’s $2 billion fine request, advocating for a maximum penalty of $10 million. They argue the fine is excessive.
Protocol for cross-border payments Ripple challenged the request of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to sanction the blockchain company $2 billion, arguing that the maximum penalty should not exceed $10 million.
Ripple Labs opposed the SEC’s petition to a federal magistrate to impose the nearly $2 billion fine on the company in a new filing. Ripple urged the court to deny pre-judgment interest, disgorgement, and an injunction requested by the SEC.
Additionally, Ripple stated that the court ought to impose a civil penalty that is more rational, not exceeding $10 million. The document stated:
Ripple has every intent of adhering to that guidance in the future and every incentive to do so. The SEC’s Draconian remedial requests are ungrounded in law or principle. This Court should reject them in their entiretyAccording to the filing, the SEC petitioned the court to order Ripple to pay $876 million in disgorgement, $198 million in pre-judgment interest, and an additional $876 million in civil penalties. The sum reached nearly $2 billion in total.
The requested sanction amount was disclosed by Ripple nearly a month ago. The chief legal officer of Ripple Labs, Stuart Alderoty, disclosed on March 25 that the SEC had petitioned a federal magistrate to levy the aforementioned fines on the blockchain company.
The attorney stated that the SEC continues to threaten and penalize Ripple and the cryptocurrency industry.
Ripple stated in its new filing that the fine was “irrational” and that $10 million accurately reflects a portion of the company’s actual revenues. The document contained an actual percentage that Ripple redacted.
Additionally, the filing emphasized that the sum above “would be proportionate in dollar amount and percentage to analogous digital asset cases in which there was no culpable mental state and no significant harm or risk of harm to others.”
Alderoty stated on X that the SEC’s request for acceptable and subsequent actions is evidence of its “continuous intimidation against the entire cryptocurrency industry” in the United States. The Ripple attorney stated that there were no allegations or conclusions of fraud or recklessness in the case.
Furthermore, the legal officer thinks that Ripple prevailed on “substantial” points and hopes the judge will proceed with the final remedies portion of the case in an equitable manner.
