Ripple, SEC Move To End Legal Dispute As Both Sides Withdraw Appeals

Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission are moving toward a final resolution of their lengthy legal battle, as both parties formally requested a pause on their respective appeals in court.

What Happened: The joint filing, submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, confirms that an agreement-in-principle has been reached and the parties are now working toward finalizing it.

The filing states that additional time is needed for the SEC to secure formal approval of the settlement and to obtain a ruling from the district court.

Legal representatives from both Ripple and the SEC signed the document, marking the first formal indication that the appeals process may be concluding.

The SEC's appeal, originally filed in October 2023, challenged prior rulings related to Ripple's sale of XRP XRP/USD.

Ripple had also filed a cross-appeal.

Both actions are now being dropped, pending final approval by the Commission.

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Why It Matters: This development follows Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse's statement last month suggesting that the SEC intended to withdraw its challenge.

While the resolution is still contingent on formal SEC approval, it is expected to proceed following the recent Senate confirmation of incoming SEC Chair Paul Atkins.

The case, initiated in December 2020, alleged that Ripple conducted a $1.3 billion unregistered securities offering through XRP sales.

However, in July 2023, Judge Analisa Torres ruled that secondary market sales of XRP did not qualify as securities offerings—a partial win for Ripple.

Since Donald Trump's election victory, XRP has surged nearly 300%, fueled by optimism over a friendlier regulatory environment.

Despite today's confirmation of appeal withdrawals, the token rose only 0.2% in the last 24 hours, indicating that the news may already be priced in by investors.

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