Attorney Fred Rispoli suggests that Ripple might pay a significantly lower fine than the court’s initial order of $125 million.
Rispoli, founder of Hodl Law, made this prediction during a recent interview on the Thinking Crypto Podcast. Notably, suggested that the SEC’s decision to drop its appeal against Ripple despite a $125 million fine on the table deviates from expectations.
Ripple's $125M SEC Fine: Will It Vanish or be Reduced?!
Attorney Fred Rispoli shares his thoughts on what may happen to Ripple's $125 million fine following the SEC’s decision to drop its appeal in the XRP case.
Watch the full episode https://t.co/Pl7juFXvkc#xrp #ripple #sec… https://t.co/E409bGMR2l pic.twitter.com/fho8K9nfqm
— Tony Edward (Thinking Crypto Podcast) (@ThinkingCrypto1) March 20, 2025
In August 2024, Judge Analisa Torres ordered the company to pay $125 million in fines for failing to register its past institutional XRP sales with the SEC. This violation also prompted the judge to impose a permanent injunction on Ripple’s future institutional sales.
Ripple Fine to Drop to $10M
With the SEC dropping its appeal, Attorney Rispoli speculates that the parties would agree to have Ripple pay a significantly lower fine instead of the $125 million initially ordered. He predicts that Ripple might pay around $10 – $12 million, which aligns with the amount the company initially proposed.
For context, Ripple made this proposal in April 2024 while responding to the SEC’s motion for remedies, where it demanded $2 billion. At the time, The Crypto Basic reported that Ripple sought to pay a fine of $10 million in civil penalty.
The company also asked the court to dismiss the commission’s plea for disgorgement and prejudgment interest. However, Judge Torres ignored the parties’ requests and ordered the defendant to pay $125 million as fine.
Ripple Complies with Court Order
Last week, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse disclosed that the company had partially complied with the order. He said the company had paid the $125 million fine into an escrow account.
Following the SEC’s dismissal move, Garlinghouse said Ripple intends to reclaim the $125 million fine and have the injunction dropped. He highlighted these demands as possible conditions the company might consider before it drops its cross-appeal.
Despite Ripple’s demand, Attorney Rispoli still thinks the company might pay a significantly lower fine of around $10 – $12 million. However, he asserted that the SEC would dismiss the permanent injunction order, potentially allowing Ripple to raise funds in the capital markets and ultimately go public in the U.S. through an IPO.
In the meantime, SEC commissioners are expected to approve the dismissal of Ripple’s appeal at a closed meeting this week. Afterward, the commission will issue a statement confirming it is no longer pursuing an appeal against Ripple.
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