SEC drops Ripple appeal in “resounding victory” for the crypto industry

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced the SEC finally dropped its appeal against the firm — a move many XRP supporters have been waiting for. XRP, Ripple’s native token, is up 9% on the news. The decision is a big win for the crypto ecosystem, as the case became somewhat emblematic of the previous administration’s “regulation by enforcement” stance toward the industry.

“This is it — the moment we’ve been waiting for. The SEC will drop its appeal — a resounding victory for Ripple, for crypto, every way you look at it. The future is bright. Let’s build,” Garlinghouse posted on X.

The latest decision further cements the new administration’s departure from former Chair Gary Gensler’s anti-crypto stance.

Ripple’s chief legal officer said it was a landmark case.

The SEC sued Ripple in 2020, alleging that it sold XRP as an unregistered security. In January 2023, the judge ruled that XRP was a security when Ripple sold it to institutional clients but wasn’t a security when XRP sold to retail traders.

In August 2023, the US District Court for the Southern District of New York ordered Ripple to pay a $125 million civil penalty. Initially, the SEC had sought $2 billion. In October, the SEC appealed the decision, and later that month, Ripple filed a “cross-appeal,” or an appeal to that appeal.

The SEC has not formally announced it’s dropping the appeal, but this pattern follows other similar decisions such as its case against Coinbase, which CEO Brian Armstrong was first to announce would be dropped and then later was officially confirmed by the SEC.

The decision is also welcome news for the chances of an XRP ETF to be approved, several of which are in the works.