After more than four years of intense legal wrangling, the high-profile lawsuit between Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially come to an end. Both parties have agreed to withdraw their respective appeals, bringing a definitive close to one of the most consequential legal battles in the cryptocurrency industry’s history.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse hailed the outcome as a “resounding victory” for the company and the wider crypto sector. The decision to abandon further litigation follows Judge Analisa Torres’s recent rejection of a proposed $50 million restructured settlement, which was deemed procedurally and legally insufficient.
Despite the court’s disapproval of the revised agreement, Judge Torres left the door open for both Ripple and the SEC to end their appeals outright—a path they have now taken.
The SEC initially filed suit against Ripple in December 2020, during the final days of the Trump administration. The enforcement action alleged that Ripple's institutional sales of its XRP token constituted unregistered securities offerings. The lawsuit continued through the Biden administration, during which time regulatory enforcement policies toward digital assets began to evolve.
In a pivotal August 2024 ruling, Judge Torres found that while Ripple had breached securities laws in relation to institutional sales of XRP, the token itself was not a security when sold to retail investors. This partial victory for Ripple marked a significant legal precedent, distinguishing between institutional and retail token transactions.
Following the ruling, both Ripple and the SEC filed cross-appeals—Ripple objecting to financial penalties and injunctive relief, and the SEC seeking a higher monetary fine than the $125 million initially imposed.
Negotiations aimed at a reduced settlement saw the SEC propose a $50 million penalty in exchange for ending injunctive measures and returning funds to Ripple. However, Judge Torres rejected the settlement on procedural grounds, citing a lack of legal foundation.Rather than continuing appeals, both parties have now opted for finality—dropping their challenges and closing the case.
The conclusion of the Ripple-SEC saga removes a long-standing source of uncertainty in the crypto industry, which has watched the case closely for its potential implications on token classification and regulatory standards.In immediate reaction to the news, XRP spiked sharply, briefly reaching $2.149 before stabilizing at higher-than-average levels. The market’s response signals investor relief and renewed optimism for Ripple’s future.
With the legal dispute now behind it, Ripple is poised to refocus on its global expansion and enterprise solutions, while the SEC continues to recalibrate its approach to digital asset enforcement under new leadership.
This resolution may not only solidify XRP’s regulatory status but could also influence how future enforcement cases against crypto firms are structured and resolved.
June 2025, Cryptoniteuae