The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has turned down Ripple’s $10 million settlement offer, insisting on a larger penalty and dismissing any comparisons to the Terraform Labs settlement as misleading.
In the midst of Ripple’s ongoing legal battle with the SEC, tensions have risen following reports of a potential reduction in penalties. However, the SEC has firmly rejected Ripple’s $10 million settlement proposal, arguing that it is inappropriate to compare it to the $4.47 billion Terraform Labs settlement for penalty determination.
In response to Ripple’s letter referencing the Terraform Labs Consent Judgment, the SEC’s Jorge Tenreiro emphasized that settlements are not suitable benchmarks for litigated contexts due to the unique circumstances of each case. He pointed out significant differences between the Terraform and Ripple cases, particularly in terms of financial conditions and willingness to cease violative conduct, refuting Ripple’s comparison of penalty ratios as misleading.
The SEC maintains that a larger penalty is necessary to address and deter Ripple’s ongoing violations, citing the need to uphold civil penalty statutes and hold Ripple accountable. Despite the legal challenges, Ripple (XRP) is currently priced at $0.4934, experiencing a 1.61% decrease in the past day and a 2.96% increase over the past week.