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.
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 ramps up plans to invest in early-stage crypto startups.
The fund, which exceeded its $150 million target, marks the first time Galaxy has accepted outside capital. Until now, the company had relied solely on its own balance sheet for venture investments, according to a Thursday press release.
The fund targets high-growth sectors such as stablecoins, tokenization, and payments, as well as the software layers that support them.
“We’re seeing an acceleration of adoption from both institutions and retail users globally—especially around use cases like payments, capital markets, and financial services more broadly,” general partner Mike Giampapa commented.
Founder and CEO Mike Novogratz said the company has been able to close its first venture fund above target during one of the toughest periods for crypto fundraising.
“With deep roots in onchain markets and blockchain infrastructure, we’re committed to backing founders and startups building real-world use cases that are shaping the next chapter of crypto adoption,” he added.
Invesco becomes 9th bidder for spot Solana ETF
Asset manager Invesco has joined up as the ninth firm looking to launch a spot Solana (SOL) exchange-traded fund, lodging a registration statement with regulators on Wednesday alongside Galaxy Digital for the Invesco Galaxy Solana ETF.
The fund would directly hold Solana and aim to track its price, and, if approved, would trade on the Cboe BZX exchange under the ticker “QSOL.” The filing said it could also stake a portion of the SOL “from time to time.”
Invesco and Galaxy will need to submit Form 19b-4, which proposes a rule change to the SEC, for the agency to begin the process of considering approving the ETF.
It joins CoinShares, VanEck, Bitwise, Grayscale, 21Shares, Canary Capital, Franklin Templeton and Fidelity Investments in looking to launch a Solana ETF, which analysts said has a 90% chance of approval and could be approved next month, well before a regulatory deadline of Oct. 10.
