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The long and winding legal battle between Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) appears to be drawing to a close, and the market is reacting accordingly. Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, took to X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday to declare that the case, which has loomed over the company and its XRP cryptocurrency for four years, is finally over. This caused Ripple price (XRP) to surge, overtaking other tokens that sit on a similar market cap level.
“I’m thrilled to say that this case has ended. It’s over,” Garlinghouse announced in his video post. “Today marks a victory for innovation and a long-overdue retreat by the SEC.”
The news sent Ripple price soaring, with XRP jumping as much as 14% to reach $2.55, according to data from CoinGecko.
The Final Chapter in a Four-Year Drama
Ripple, which operates the XRP Ledger and its native cryptocurrency XRP, has been locked in a legal standoff with the SEC since December 2020. The regulatory body alleged that Ripple had conducted unregistered securities sales through its XRP transactions, a claim that sparked a pivotal debate over how cryptocurrencies should be classified under U.S. law.
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Last year, a federal judge in New York ruled that Ripple’s programmatic sales of XRP to retail investors did not constitute securities transactions, providing a much-needed win for the firm. However, the court also found that direct institutional sales did breach securities regulations, leaving the door open for further legal wrangling.
The SEC, unhappy with the partial loss, sought to challenge the ruling. But now, according to Garlinghouse, the regulator is backing down, pushing Ripple price up.
The SEC’s Next Move? Still Unclear
Despite the CEO’s confident announcement, the SEC has yet to make an official statement regarding the withdrawal of its appeal. A Ripple spokesperson told Decrypt that while the decision is subject to a formal Commission vote, the case could take “several weeks” to be formally dismissed.
“The timeline is entirely in the SEC’s hands,” the spokesperson added.
Ripple has already been ordered to pay a $125 million fine for its institutional XRP sales, far below the SEC’s original $2 billion demand. What remains uncertain is whether the agency’s legal retreat will have any effect on the penalty imposed by the Southern District of New York.
Ripple Price Post Shift by the SEC
While the SEC’s apparent withdrawal may seem like a surprise, many industry watchers anticipated it. Under Acting Chair Mark Uyeda, the regulator has been stepping back from some of its more aggressive enforcement actions, including lawsuits against crypto giants Coinbase and Kraken.
Had the SEC prevailed in its appeal, it could have set a precedent for classifying a broad range of cryptocurrencies as securities, reshaping the regulatory landscape overnight. But with this case seemingly headed for the archives, XRP price has found renewed momentum, and the broader crypto industry is watching closely.
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Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer, Stuart Alderoty, had previously predicted the SEC’s retreat. Back in October, he remarked that the regulator’s appeal would “backfire” and suggested that the agency could drop its challenge at any time. A prophecy that now appears to have come true.
For XRP holders and Ripple supporters, the end of this saga marks a defining moment. But in a market that never sleeps, the next chapter for Ripple price is just beginning.
