Ripple and SEC Drop Appeals, Ending a Five-Year Legal Standoff
BY
Ben Graham
|
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Ripple and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have agreed to call it quits on one of the most closely watched legal battles in crypto. Both sides are dropping their appeals, bringing an end to nearly five years of courtroom drama over the status of XRP. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse confirmed the decision publicly, saying the company is finally ready to move on.
This decision comes after a series of rulings, negotiations, and attempted settlements that kept the industry guessing for years. While some questions remain unresolved, both Ripple and the SEC seem to have decided that continuing the fight was no longer worth it.
How It All Started
The SEC first sued Ripple back in December 2020, accusing the company of raising more than $1.3 billion by selling XRP as an unregistered security. Ripple pushed back, arguing that XRP should be treated like a currency, not an investment contract. What followed was a long legal tug-of-war that saw partial wins and losses on both sides.
In 2023, Judge Analisa Torres ruled that XRP traded on public exchanges did not violate securities laws. However, she also found that Ripple’s institutional sales of XRP did. That ruling set the stage for a complicated round of appeals. Ripple challenged the decision on institutional sales. The SEC, on the other hand, wanted to challenge the ruling that XRP used by retail traders did not fall under securities rules.
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Why They’re Walking Away Now
Earlier this month, Ripple and the SEC tried to reach a final resolution. Ripple offered to pay a lower penalty and end the case. But the judge pushed back, saying her previous ruling still stood and neither side could sidestep it. That made it clear that the appeals process would drag on, with no guarantee of a better outcome for either party.
In the end, both Ripple and the SEC seem to have decided that enough was enough. By dropping the appeals, they lock in the current court findings and avoid the risk of a higher court reversing any part of the judgment. That means the mixed result from last year will stand: XRP is not a security when sold on exchanges, but it is when sold to institutional investors in the way Ripple originally did it.
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What It Means for the Crypto Market
The end of this legal battle removes a major cloud that has been hanging over XRP and, more broadly, over crypto regulation in the United States. For Ripple, it clears the way to focus on growing its payments business and building out the XRP Ledger without the constant distraction of court deadlines and legal fees.
For the industry, it may mark a turning point. Regulators and crypto companies have spent the last few years locked in lawsuits over how digital assets should be classified. This case was a key example. With it wrapped up, there may be more room for cooperation or at least a little more clarity about what counts as security.
What Comes Next
Ripple still faces a fine tied to its past institutional sales, but the appeals are done. From here, the focus shifts to how the company rebuilds momentum and how regulators respond. With Congress debating new legislation and other lawsuits still pending, the XRP case may be over, but the broader conversation about crypto regulation is far from settled.
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Key Takeaways
The post Ripple and SEC Drop Appeals, Ending a Five-Year Legal Standoff appeared first on 99Bitcoins.