Crypto Web Desk: In a stunning reversal, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has formally filed a settlement agreement letter with Southern District of New York Judge Analisa Torres.
What’s This About?
The SEC has in fact announced that it has settled with Ripple, the blockchain company behind the XRP cryptocurrency. This is an important development in the long-term legal battle between the two parties.
In the letter, the SEC asked the court for an “indicative ruling” — namely, they need to know whether the court would approve the settlement once the case is formally handed back to the court by the appeals court.
The Appeals Court Had Braked Everything
Earlier, the Second Circuit Court had deferred the appeal to give both sides time to settle. With them having now agreed, the case can be sent back to the lower court for sanction.Ripple’s Fine Gets a Drastic Reduction
Here’s the good news for Ripple:
The fine has been lowered from $125 million to a paltry $50 million.
The rest of the money will be repaid to Ripple.
What Next?
The injunction (a court order that was holding back Ripple in some sense) imposed by Judge Torres last August will most probably be dissolved.
Both the SEC and Ripple have agreed not to appeal the judge’s previous ruling from July 2023.
Rapid Summary of That Ruling
Sales to the public (programmatic sales) of XRP were not securities.
Sales to institutions, though, did breach securities law, the court found.
XRP Price Reacts
Since the announcement, XRP is up 7.2% in the past 24 hours, CoinGecko reports.