XRP rockets 26% as Ripple execs hail $125M penalty as ‘victory’

The price of XRP surged 26% as a New York federal judge moved closer to ending a three-year securities lawsuit against Ripple Labs, in what its executives are calling a “victory” for the industry.

On Aug. 7, a federal judge ordered Ripple Labs to pay a $125 million civil penalty and said the firm was “permanently restrained and enjoined” from violating United States securities laws as part of a case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Cointelegraph reported that the ruling seemingly puts Ripple’s case with the SEC in its final stages since the regulator initially filed the lawsuit in December 2020.

Upon the news, XRP (XRP) rallied 26% to $0.63, recouping most of its losses from the broader crypto downturn since Aug. 5, according to CoinMarketCap data.

At the time of publication, XRP is trading at $0.59.

Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse stated in an X post shortly after that “This is a victory for Ripple, the industry and the rule of law. The SEC’s headwinds against the whole of the XRP community are gone.”

“The SEC's unhinged campaign against us is finally over. Let’s all hope this ends this Administration’s war on crypto,” Ripple Labs co-founder Chris Larsen added in a post on X.

However, other crypto commentators were equally focused on XRP’s price movement following the decision.

“Overall, a HUGE win for Ripple. Although I'm surprised at the $125M hit, Ripple more than made that just on the price move in XRP in the last 5 minutes,” crypto lawyer and founder of Hodl Law Fred Rispoli wrote in an Aug. 7 X post.

“XRP IS READY TO FLY. NO MORE HOLDING IT BACK! NO MORE PRICE SUPPRESSION! THE LAWSUIT IS DONE!!” crypto researcher Ripple Van Winkle told their 108,400 X followers.

The price surge caught future traders off guard by erasing 40% more short positions than long ones in just four hours.

$5.4 million worth of short positions were liquidated after the price surge, according to CoinGlass data.

If the momentum continues and the price hits $0.65, another $20 million in short positions could be liquidated.