Ripple Refuses to Pay SEC the Hefty Fine of $770 Million in Settlement

Amidst the rumours in the crypto community, John. E Deaton, the amicus curiae in the lawsuit, discusses the possibility of a settlement between the SEC and Ripple.

In his October 27th X thread, lawyer John E. Deaton has explained how the SEC and Ripple could reach the settlement and whether it is actually possible at the moment.

As I said on @CryptoLawUS TV yesterday with @attorneyjeremy1 and Thien-Vu, I do not believe there has been a single serious conversation regarding settlement between @Ripple @bgarlinghouse @chrislarsensf and the @SECGov.

The SEC is pissed and embarrassed and wants $770M worth… https://t.co/kcXvsrPgaa

— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) October 25, 2023

Deaton started off by stating that it seems to him that the parties i.e. the SEC, Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse, firm’s CEO, and Chris Larsen, firm’s co-founder have not even had a conversation on the matter of settlement.

Deaton claimed that the SEC has asked Ripple to pay a ridiculously heavy fine of $770 million, which Ripple has, obviously, refused to do as the firm tries to lower down the amount. According to Deaton Ripple will exclude ODL transactions, reduce salaries, expenses and other costs to reduce the amount.

Deaton also highlighted that the remedy process in itself is like another case which requires further depositions; parties are compelled to produce relevant documents including emails, ODL transactions and contracts.

The lawyer gave reference to the SEC lawsuit against LBRY that was eventually settled. Initially the SEC had asked LBRY to pay the fine of $23 million and  what followed were 8-months long court proceedings involving the production of documents and deposition of jeremy kauffman, the CEO of LBRY.

The penalty sought by the SEC,however, was later reduced to $130k, which was eventually paid by LBRY.

On the possibility of the settlement between the SEC and Ripple, Deaton stated that it is only possible if the crypto exchange coinbase wins the Mtd, the motion to dismiss the lawsuit. According to Deaton that would deter SEC from continuing its war on crypto, basically, and will force the regulator to settle the lawsuit with Ripple.