Ripple Says SEC's $2B Fine Against It Has "Absolutely No Precedent"

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) might have found itself in the good books of the crypto industry for approving Bitcoin ETFs in January but the regulator seems to be slipping into its old ways again.

According to Ripple chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty, the SEC is seeking fines and penalties amassing $2 billion from the crypto firm over its sales of the XRP token.

Alderoty said the regulator asked U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres for the penalties in court papers filed under seal.

"Rather than faithfully apply the law, the SEC remains bent on wanting to punish and intimidate Ripple - and the industry at large," Alderoty said.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse also took to X to vent his frustration. "The SEC plans to ask the Judge for $2B in a case that involved no allegations (let alone findings) of fraud or recklessness. There is absolutely no precedent for this. We will continue to expose the SEC for what they are when we respond to this," he wrote.

Garlinghouse also took aim at SEC chair Gary Gensler, stating that he has "repeatedly acted outside the law – not going unnoticed by Judges admonishing the agency for a 'gross abuse of the power entrusted to it by Congress' (DEBT Box case) and for acting without 'faithful allegiance to the law' (Ripple case)."

The Ripple CEO has never been one to bite his tongue when talking about the SEC. Most recently, he said the SEC will ultimately concede Ethereum's classification as a non-security, saying on X that the SEC "will lose the war against ETH just as the lost against XRP."

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Dating back to a 2020 lawsuit, the SEC had accused Ripple of conducting an unregistered securities offering worth $1.3 billion by selling XRP.

In July, Judge Torres ruled that XRP is “not necessarily a security on its face.”

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The SEC dropped its charges against Garlinghouse and Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen in October.

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In a surprising turn of events, the SEC voluntarily dismissed the case, ensuring that the same charges cannot be refiled in the future.

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Ripple's response to the SEC is expected on 22 April, the day before its trial is due to take place.