Ripple proposes ‘no more than $10M’ in penalties after SEC seeks $1.9B

Ripple and the SEC have been locked in a years-long legal battle that started in 2020

article-image

JLStock/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Ripple Labs pushed back against the Securities and Exchange Commission’s request for the court to impose nearly $2 billion in fines. 

“In a case that had no allegations (or findings) of recklessness or fraud, and in which Ripple won on significant issues, the SEC’s ask is just more evidence of its ongoing intimidation against all of crypto in the US,” Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty said in a post on X. 

In the filing, Ripple argued that the SEC didn’t allege “fraud, deceit” or manipulation and the case failed to “show that Ripple recklessly disregarded the law.”

Instead, Ripple argued, the court should impose a penalty of “no more than $10 million.”

Ripple argued that while any violation of the Securities Act is a “serious matter,” the company’s violation doesn’t warrant such a high penalty. 

“Ripple’s Institutional sales are far less egregious,” the filing said, than other crimes such as commingling funds or fraud.

Read more: Ripple, SEC argue to the very end of years-long legal battle 

Last summer, Judge Analisa Torres found that Ripple’s institutional sales fell under securities sales under Howey. However, the judgment wasn’t a total win for the SEC because Torres also found that the programmatic sales of XRP didn’t constitute the offer of investment contracts under Howey.

In a March filing, the SEC disclosed that it would seek nearly $2 billion in penalties against the company. Alderoty and CEO Brad Garlinghouse took to X to announce the sum before the official release of the SEC’s filing. 

Last month, Garlinghouse said that the SEC had acted “outside the law” and cited the DEBT Box case in which the SEC was recently sanctioned. 

The two have been locked in a years-long legal battle that started in 2020. Ripple, alongside Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen, were accused of raising over $1.3 billion illegally by the SEC.

At the end of last year, the regulator said it wouldn’t pursue a trial against Garlinghouse or Larsen.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Unlocked by Template.png

Research

The march toward an interoperable and onchain-by-default internet depends on reliable messaging and value transfer across heterogeneous domains. Crosschain protocols now process >$1.3T in combined annual transfer volume and secure tens of millions of user interactions, yet no single design dominates.

article-image

The goal, per Santiago Santos, is to make crypto a relatable piece of tech for people who may not even understand it

article-image

Stripe stablecoin unit aims to operate under a federal charter enabling regulated stablecoin issuance and custody services

by Blockworks /
article-image

Will TradFi make crypto better or create more problems than it solves?

article-image

Subtle decisions by risk curators saved Aave from significant turmoil

article-image

The new Rootstock Institutional unit aims to connect professional investors to Bitcoin-native yield and liquidity strategies anchored in BTC’s security layer

by Blockworks /
article-image

DOJ files record civil forfeiture against more than 127,000 BTC linked to scam activity

by Blockworks /