XRP jumped 10% on Wednesday during U.S. morning hours as Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is set to drop its appeal against Ripple, the company closely adjacent to XRP tokens
“This is it – the moment we’ve been waiting for. The SEC will drop its appeal,” Garlinghouse posted on X. “A resounding victory for Ripple, for crypto, every way you look at it.”
Reports last week claimed that the long-standing legal battle between Ripple and the agency was nearing its end. The SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple in 2020 alleging that the company raised $1.3 billion via unregistered securities sales of XRP tokens.
U.S. Judge Analisa Torres in 2023 ruled that while Ripple violated federal securities law with institutional sales, the programmatic sales of tokens to retail exchanges did not violate the laws, a ruling that many viewed as a partial victory for Ripple. The judge handed a $125 million fine against Ripple last August. The SEC filed a “notice of appeal” following the decision.
The SEC’s lawsuit against the crypto company, which Garlinghouse described as the “first major shot fired in the war on crypto” had resulted in $15 billion in losses for holders of XRP. Previous cases by the SEC had ended quickly, making this lawsuit against Ripple a prominent action against the crypto industry.
After the departure of former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, the Commission has dropped several cases, including its investigations into Coinbase. While President Donald Trump has nominated Paul Atkins to serve as the next chair, the Senate has not yet scheduled a confirmation hearing for his confirmation.
UPDATE (March 19, 13:42 UTC): Adds background and details on the legal battle between SEC and Ripple.
