XRP’s Ripple drops appeal against SEC after paying $50M as case officially ends

Ripple has dropped its appeal against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after paying $50 million of the $125 million penalty tied to its long-running lawsuit, according to a detailed statement posted by Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer.

The remaining $75 million—held in an interest-bearing escrow account—is being returned to the company. The SEC also agreed to withdraw its appeal, officially ending the case that started back in December 2020 under former SEC Chair Jay Clayton.

Stuart said on X that, “The final crossing of t’s and dotting of i’s – and what should be my last update on SEC v Ripple ever. Last week, the SEC agreed to drop its appeal without conditions. Ripple has now agreed to drop its cross-appeal.

“The SEC will keep $50M of the $125M fine (already in an interest-bearing escrow in cash), with the balance returned to Ripple. The agency will also ask the Court to lift the standard injunction that was imposed earlier at the SEC’s request. All subject to Commission vote, drafting of final documents and usual court processes. That’s all folks!”

The case had accused Ripple of raising $1.3 billion through unregistered sales of XRP, the company’s native token, which the SEC tried to classify as a security. The lawsuit was one of the biggest enforcement actions targeting a crypto firm, filed on Clayton’s last day in office. It dragged on for four years, with Ripple spending $150 million on legal fees to fight back.

Ripple walks, SEC folds, and the crypto lawsuits collapse

On Wednesday, Ripple confirmed that the SEC had completely dropped the case. The move comes after the agency lost several key battles in court, including a ruling in July 2023 that XRP is not necessarily a security. That decision cracked open the SEC’s entire enforcement strategy. The court found that programmatic sales of XRP on public exchanges didn’t meet the legal definition of securities offerings.

Ripple is now framing the case as a turning point. Speaking to CNBC, Stuart said, “Ripple stands alone as the company that fought back — and won on essential legal questions — throwing a major wrench into the SEC’s plans to destroy crypto in the U.S. through enforcement. The SEC has now abandoned its appeal in our case. In a fitting irony, Ripple was the first major case they brought and will now be the last one they walk away from.”

The lawsuit also targeted Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen personally. Those charges were dropped last year after the court dismissed most of the SEC’s core arguments. The agency had also tried to subpoena foreign regulators, dig through the company’s partnerships, and pull documents from entities that worked with Ripple.

The announcement caused XRP to spike 11% within hours, as investors reacted to the clean legal break. Ripple now moves forward without the threat of an injunction. The SEC has said it will ask the court to officially lift the one it previously requested.

Ripple was created in 2012 and was one of the first companies to offer a non-Bitcoin cryptocurrency. Its founders launched XRP as a native asset for the Ripple network, aiming to make cross-border payments faster. Over the years, XRP became a popular token for retail investors, and Ripple maintained that its sales never violated securities laws.

The SEC, under former Chair Gary Gensler, had ramped up crypto enforcement, filing cases against multiple platforms including Coinbase, Kraken, Binance, Robinhood, and OpenSea. But since 2024, many of those cases have been dismissed, paused, or settled quietly. Coinbase’s case ended in February. The Wells Notice against Robinhood got pulled. Binance’s investigation has been paused. Kraken’s case is also off the table.

Crypto wins cases while Trump boosts the movement from the top

Ripple’s courtroom victory didn’t just resolve one company’s legal headache—it pushed back on the SEC’s strategy of policing crypto through lawsuits. The win helped change momentum at the federal level, with crypto companies now finding more support under President Donald Trump’s new administration. Trump, who returned to office in January 2025, has gone from being a crypto critic to a vocal backer.

At the 2024 Bitcoin Conference, Trump said he would make sure the U.S. becomes “the crypto capital of the planet and the bitcoin superpower of the world.” His campaign received financial support from Ripple and other crypto firms. Since taking office, Trump has appointed tech investor David Sacks as his AI and crypto czar, and the White House has already signed an executive order on digital assets with Sacks standing at Trump’s side.

David attended the Crypto Ball after the inauguration and declared, “The war on crypto is over.”

The SEC has also started changing its approach. On Friday, the agency held its first major crypto roundtable. Hester Peirce, a long-time critic of Gensler’s enforcement-first approach, now leads the SEC’s new Crypto Task Force. Her strategy focuses on building rules with the industry, not fighting it in court.

Peirce also rolled back Staff Accounting Bulletin 121, a 2022 rule that forced banks to treat crypto holdings as liabilities. The policy, pushed by Gensler, had been a huge roadblock for crypto adoption in traditional finance. After repealing the rule in January, Hester posted on X, “Bye, bye SAB 121! It’s not been fun.”

Big banks are already reacting to the change. During the World Economic Forum in Davos, executives from Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America hinted at returning to the crypto space, encouraged by signs that regulators are finally backing off.

Ripple’s legal team has always said the SEC wasn’t trying to protect investors. They believed the agency used legal pressure to crush the industry. They said the subpoenas, the personal lawsuits, and the international coordination were all tactics designed to wear down crypto firms.

Now, with the case officially done, Ripple says it’s not going anywhere.

“While this chapter is closed, the fight for clear, fair, and transparent crypto regulation continues,” Stuart told CNBC. “Ripple will continue to lead that fight.”

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