As per Ripple Labs, the SEC, under the leadership of Gensler, is known for imposing excessive fines. The CLO found the SEC’s response to the filing particularly noteworthy. Stuart Alderoty, the chief legal officer of Ripple, has provided fresh insights on the latest filing from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) following a tense week in the case.
The drama began this week with an announcement of a settlement between the regulator and the troubled Terraform Labs. The settlement amount of $4.47 billion raised concerns as recent analyses suggest that the company may not have the financial means to pay it.
In addition, Ripple Labs joined the fray by urging the court to reject the fine through a notice of Supplemental Authority. Ripple Labs claimed that the SEC, under Gary Gensler, has a history of imposing inflated penalties. The blockchain payment provider reiterated its stance that the $2 billion sought by the SEC is excessive given the nature of the transactions involved in the litigation.
In response to Ripple Labs’ notice, the SEC submitted a detailed objection, clarifying that the settlement amount for Terraform Labs was $4.47 billion. The Ripple CLO disputed the SEC’s assertion that Ripple was not agreeing to anything and used the opportunity to refute this claim. Alderoty recalled Judge Analisa Torres’ ruling from last year, stating that XRP was not considered a security and that there were no victims in the XRP sales by Ripple Labs.
The SEC’s arguments in response to Ripple Labs’ filing were of particular interest to Stuart Alderoty. According to the regulator, Ripple had rejected the notion of a penalty and was entitled to a minimum of $102.6 million, in addition to the $10 million already claimed. The Ripple CLO expressed relief, stating that the SEC seemed to have abandoned its demand for $2 billion based on this development.
In other crypto news today, the founder of Cardano proposed blockchain-backed elections with a paper audit trail.