Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) lawsuit against the crypto company has officially ended, marking another dropped enforcement action in the early weeks of President Donald Trump’s administration.
“This provides a lot of certainty for Ripple,” Garlinghouse stated in a Bloomberg Television interview on Wednesday, revealing that the San Francisco-based blockchain firm has spent over $150 million on legal defense.
The SEC declined to comment on the matter.
Remaining Legal Disputes and Potential Fine
Despite the case’s resolution, parts of Ripple’s legal battle with the SEC continue. In 2023, the company appealed a ruling that determined some historical XRP sales to institutional investors should have been registered with the SEC. A $125 million fine remains in escrow, and Ripple is now deliberating whether to continue its appeal or settle the penalty, according to Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty.
“We are just taking it under advisement at this point,” Alderoty said.
Following the news, XRP, the cryptocurrency at the heart of the dispute, surged 15% to $2.59 on Wednesday. XRP is currently the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, trailing Bitcoin and Ethereum. The token has soared nearly 400% since Trump’s election victory in November.
Ripple Eyes Expansion, IPO Not a Priority
Looking ahead, Garlinghouse emphasized Ripple’s focus on acquisitions rather than pursuing an initial public offering.
“We’ll look at other things that are blockchain infrastructure companies,” he noted.
The SEC’s retreat from various crypto-related legal battles has signaled a shift in the regulatory landscape. The agency has either dropped or paused several high-profile cases, including lawsuits against major exchanges Coinbase and Binance, as well as investigations into Robinhood, decentralized exchange Uniswap Labs, and NFT marketplace OpenSea.
Trump’s Crypto-Friendly Stance and Ripple’s Political Influence
Trump’s administration has been actively reshaping crypto regulations, following his campaign promises of a more favorable environment for digital assets. Ripple, a significant political donor in the last congressional election cycle, has played a role in this shift.
In February, Trump amplified Ripple’s presence by sharing a CoinDesk story about Garlinghouse on Truth Social, earning mixed reactions from the crypto community. In December, Garlinghouse announced Ripple’s plan to donate $5 million in XRP to Trump’s inauguration festivities. Both he and Alderoty have been photographed with the president at Mar-a-Lago.
XRP, originally created by the founders of what became Ripple Labs Inc., was at the center of the SEC’s lawsuit. Trump had previously suggested including it in a crypto reserve before signing an executive order to establish a digital asset stockpile. Though XRP was ultimately left out, asset managers like Bitwise have since applied for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) involving the token.
Landmark SEC Case and Its Impact on the Crypto Industry
The SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple, filed in December 2020, was a watershed moment for the crypto industry, marking an aggressive escalation in regulatory enforcement. The agency accused Ripple of raising funds illegally through XRP sales without proper registration.
However, in 2023, U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres ruled that XRP fell under securities law only when sold to institutional investors. The decision, seen as a victory for the crypto sector, led to the SEC reducing its demand from $2 billion to a $125 million civil penalty.
Ripple’s partial legal win has emboldened other crypto companies to challenge SEC actions, further shaping the evolving regulatory framework for digital assets.
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