Judge Analisa Torres ordered Ripple to pay a civil penalty of $125,035,150 for selling unregistered XRP to institutional investors. Additionally, Judge Torres granted the SEC’s request for an injunction prohibiting XRP sales to institutional investors. The court verdict coincided with Ripple announcing the testing of its stablecoin, RLUSD.
RLUSD – Testing Begins
On Friday, August 9, Ripple announced the start of testing its stablecoin, RLUSD, stating,
“Testing, testing…RLUSD! We’re excited to share that Ripple USD (RLUSD) is now in private beta on XRP Ledger and Ethereum mainnet. RLUSD has not yet received regulatory approval and therefore is not available for purchase or trading – please be cautious of scammers who claim they have or can distribute Ripple USD.”
However, the SEC has warned that the launch of RLUSD would violate US securities laws.
RLUSD and the US SEC
In April 2024, the SEC filed its remedies-related reply brief, reinforcing its case for a punitive penalty and injunction against Ripple for violating US securities laws.
The SEC’s reply brief referenced Ripple’s plans to launch a stablecoin, labeling it the issuance of a new unregistered crypto asset.