Why Is XRP Going Up? SEC Confirms Ripple Lawsuit End with a $50M Settlement

The long-running legal dispute between Ripple and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is finally over. The regulator confirmed yesterday (Thursday) that both parties have agreed to a settlement, which involves a $50 million penalty paid by the blockchain company.

XRP Reacts Fast

XRP also reacted quickly to the regulatory confirmation. The cryptocurrency jumped about 6 per cent in the last 24 hours, taking the 7-day return to almost 4 per cent.

The latest settlement amount is only a portion of the $125 million initial penalty imposed on Ripple last year by Judge Analisa Torres of the Southern District of New York (SDNY). At that time, the SEC requested a $2 billion penalty against Ripple.

The regulator alleged that Ripple raised over $1.3 billion by selling XRP tokens in an unregistered securities offering, violating federal securities laws. However, the Judge found that Ripple's direct sales of XRP to institutional clients violated federal securities laws, but the programmatic sales of XRP to retail clients through exchanges did not constitute a violation.

After the earlier court order, both parties appealed: Ripple asked for the penalty to be dismissed, while the SEC sought a higher amount.

$50 Million, Down from $2 Billion

The regulator also highlighted that it would return over $75 million currently being held in escrow to Ripple.

“This settlement, alongside the programmatic disassembly of the SEC’s crypto enforcement programme, does a tremendous disservice to the investing public and undermines the court’s role in interpreting our securities laws,” noted SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw in the official announcement.

The settlement has been officially announced weeks after Paul Atkins took over as the SEC Chair. Atkins is viewed as a crypto-friendly individual, unlike his predecessor, Gary Gensler.

However, Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, confirmed the end of the SEC battle in mid-March. This suggests that the settlement was confirmed when Mark Uyeda headed the regulatory agency in an acting capacity. Uyeda also dropped multiple other high-profile crypto lawsuits and investigations.