Ripple CEO Announces End of Four-Year SEC Battle as XRP Surges: Key Details

The four-year legal battle between Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially ended, as announced by Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse on March 19. In a four-minute video on X, Garlinghouse reaffirmed that XRP is a digital asset, not a security. The crypto market reacted positively, with XRP surging over 10 percent on international exchanges on Thursday, March 20.

“With today's news, the war on crypto has ended in defeat for those who turned our own government against a technology and entire industry,” Garlinghouse said, just days after attending Donald Trump's crypto summit at the White House. “Thankfully, we have a new leadership that is actively seeking a rational and constructive way forward on crypto. There's immense opportunity with the largest economy in the world finally taking a pro crypto and pro innovation approach to build this technology.”

Key Details on the SEC vs Ripple Case

The SEC filed a case against Ripple in 2020, alleging that it sold its XRP token as an “unregistered security”. At the time, the SEC was chaired by Gary Gensler, who initiated cases against several crypto firms and was criticised for curbing industry growth. SEC's statement on the case in 2020 had said that Ripple Labs Inc. raised over $1.3 billion (roughly Rs. 11,213 crore) through an unregistered digital asset securities offering between 2013 and 2020. SEC's lawsuit had accused Ripple co-founder Christian Larsen alongside Garlinghouse for raising the funds to finance Ripple's business.

The SEC, at the time had said that Ripple should have registered its offering under the federal securities laws before extending the XRP token for sale to retail investors, broad distribution, and a secondary trading market. The SEC had blamed Ripple for not providing adequate disclosure about its business and other long-standing protections that are part of US' public market system.

Ripple and its co-founders have consistently denied that XRP was ever a security, distinguishing it from stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and ETFs. In his video message, Garlinghouse called the case “the first major shot fired in the war on crypto.”

In July 2023, US District Judge Analisa Torres granted Ripple a partial victory, ruling that XRP's “programmatic sales” to retail investors did not qualify as securities transactions. Programmatic selling refers to the automated sale of assets using software and algorithms, without direct communication with buyers.

Last August, Judge Torres reportedly ruled that XRP sales to institutional investors qualified as securities transactions and fined Ripple $125 million. However, the payment was put on hold as Ripple appealed to the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan. It remains uncertain whether Ripple will have to pay the fine or if it will be dismissed.

Market Reacts

The overall crypto market rose by 2.88 percent over the last 24 hours with majority cryptocurrencies reflecting gains. Bitcoin rose from $83,000 (roughly Rs. 71.8 lakh) to $86,000 (roughly Rs. 74,24,848). Ripple's XRP token – which ranks fourth on CoinMarketCap's list of tokens with largest market caps, is presently trading at $2.44 (roughly Rs. 210).

“The SEC dropping its long-running case against Ripple (XRP), leading to a 10 percent jump in the token. This move strengthens confidence in the SEC's stance, hinting at more pro-crypto decisions going ahead,” Edul Patel, Co-founder and CEO of Mudrex told Gadgets 360. The CoinDCX markets team also called the development “a historical win for the crypto space”.

Under Donald Trump's Presidency, the SEC has dropped cases against several Web3 firms such as Coinbase, Binance, Robinhood, and OpenSea among others, in recent months.