Santiment reported a significant surge in XRP’s market capitalization, which has grown by 23% in the past 24 hours. This jump coincides with an all-time high in holdings by wallets containing between 1 million and 10 million XRP coins, now totalling 7.06 billion coins, valued at $4.42 billion. As of now, XRP is trading at $0.6053, marking an 18% increase over the last day. Its global market cap stands at $33.93 billion.
Additionally, social media discussions around XRP have reached their highest levels since January.
XRP Receives Final Verdict on SEC Case
This market action comes after Judge Analisa Torres’ final decision in the SEC v. Ripple case, which was rendered on August 7. The court’s decision on the SEC’s request for remedies and judgment regarding Ripple’s violations of Section 5 of the U.S. Securities Act was disclosed by defence lawyer James K. Filan.
Judge Torres fined Ripple $125.035 million for breaking securities rules in 1,278 institutional sale transactions. Compared to the $1 billion in disgorgement and prejudgment interest as well as the $900 million in civil penalties that the SEC had requested, this punishment is much less.
The finding came after a July 2023 ruling that found sales of XRP to institutional clients directly by Ripple were illegal under federal securities regulations, while sales to regular consumers via exchanges were lawful.
A Good Win for XRP?
Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple Labs, responded to the decision on social media, calling it a win for the rule of law, the cryptocurrency market as a whole, and Ripple. He was relieved that the SEC’s legal actions against the XRP community were coming to an end. Similar hopes were expressed by co-founder Chris Larsen, who said he hoped the ruling would put an end to the SEC’s “war on crypto.”
The cryptocurrency community’s reaction has mostly concentrated on XRP’s price movement despite the fine. Fred Rispoli, a cryptocurrency attorney and the founder of Hodl Law, stated on social media that the $125 million punishment caught him off guard. However, he also pointed out that Ripple had more than made up for it, given the sharp spike in XRP’s price that followed the announcement.