Today in crypto, a judge denied Ripple and the SEC’s request to reduce a $125 million civil penalty, Galaxy Digital raised $175 million for its first externally backed venture fund, and Invesco became the ninth firm to file for a spot Solana ETF.
US judge denies Ripple, SEC joint request to reduce $125M penalty
A US district court denied a joint motion from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple requesting an indicative ruling to reduce a $125 million civil penalty and reverse an order defining primary sales of XRP to institutional investors as securities transactions under Article 5 of the Securities Act.
An indicative ruling allows lower courts like the district court to issue orders for a case that is pending review in the higher appellate court system, subject to approval from the higher court.
In a Thursday filing in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Analisa Torres wrote that the court would not undo the earlier rulings, including the $125 million penalty, which were consistent with federal securities laws passed by Congress. Torres argued:
Ultimately, the Court granted in part the SEC’s request for an injunction and a civil penalty because the Court found that ‘Ripple’s willingness to push the boundaries of the [Summary Judgment] Order evinces a likelihood that it will eventually, if it has not already, cross the line.’ None of this has changed — and the parties hardly pretend that it has.
Nevertheless, they now claim that it is in the public interest to cut the Civil Penalty by sixty percent and vacate the permanent injunction entered less than a year ago,” Torres wrote.
The parties could reduce the penalty and circumvent the lower court’s initial rulings only through the congressionally stipulated appeals process and not by directly petitioning the lower court to reverse its orders, Torres wrote.
The final page of the ruling denying the petition. Source: PACER
Galaxy Digital raises $175 million in first fund to expand crypto investments
Galaxy Digital has closed a $175 million venture fund, its first with outside capital, as the company…
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