Ripple, SEC Ask Court to Dissolve XRP Injunction, Release $125M in Escrow
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple Labs have requested a Manhattan federal court to dissolve a prior injunction and release $125 million held in escrow. Ripple proposes to pay $50 million as a civil penalty to the SEC, with the remaining funds returned to the company. This filing aims to resolve a nearly four-year legal battle initiated by the SEC in 2020, which accused Ripple of raising $1.3 billion through unregistered securities sales of XRP. Ripple denied wrongdoing and achieved a partial legal victory in 2023, with the court ruling that programmatic sales of XRP to retail buyers were not securities offerings, although violations were found in institutional sales. The SEC's penalty demand was reduced from $2 billion to $125 million under the new leadership's agreement. The SEC has shifted its approach to crypto enforcement, moving away from aggressive actions initiated under former Chair Gary Gensler. XRP was trading at $2.13, down 5.2% over the previous 24 hours.
