The SEC's "Draconian remedial requests" are unfounded in law or principle, according to a filing by Ripple.

Payment mechanism across borders The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had asked for a $2 billion fine against the blockchain business. Ripple, however, argued that the penalty ought to be no more than $10 million.

In a recent filing, Ripple Labs contested the SEC's motion for a federal judge to order the company to pay the almost $2 billion fine.

In his plea, Ripple urged the court to reject the SEC's demands for pre-judgment interest, disgorgement, and an injunction.

In addition, Ripple stated that the court ought to impose a very modest civil fine, not to exceed $10 million. According to the filing:

"Ripple is fully intending to follow that advice in the future and every incentive to do so. The SEC’s Draconian remedial requests are ungrounded in law or principle. This Court should reject them in their entirety.”

The filing highlighted that the SEC asked the court to ask Ripple to pay $876 million in disgorgement, $198 million in pre-judgment interest and another $876 million in civil penalties. In total, the amount reached almost $2 billion.

Ripple revealed the requested fine amount almost a month ago. On March 25, Ripple Labs chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty revealed that the SEC asked a federal judge to impose such fines on the blockchain company. The lawyer said the SEC remains bent on punishing and intimidating Ripple and the crypto industry.

Within the new filing, Ripple described the fine as “unreasonable” and said that $10 million is the actual amount that reflects a portion of their actual revenues. Ripple redacted the actual percentage shared in the document.

Additionally, the brief made clear that the sum "would be proportionate in both percentage and dollar amount to comparable digital-asset cases where there was no substantial harm or risk of harm to others" and that there was no mental state of blame.

Alderoty stated on X that the SEC's actions and request for the penalties demonstrate its “continuous intimidation against the entire cryptocurrency industry” in the US.

The Ripple attorney stated that there were no claims or conclusions of carelessness or deception in the case.

The legal officer also thought that Ripple had prevailed on "significant" grounds and hoped the judge would handle the case's final remedies phase equitably.