XRP spiked Friday after Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the company is “closing this chapter once and for all” in its legal battle with the US regulator that began in December 2020.
XRP’s price jumped over 3% on Friday just hours after Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the company is dropping its cross-appeal against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and expects the regulator to do the same.
“Ripple is dropping our cross-appeal, and the SEC is expected to drop their appeal, as they’ve previously said,” Garlinghouse said in an X post on Friday. XRP, the cryptocurrency associated with Ripple Labs, spiked 3.36% to $2.18 just five hours after the post, according to CoinMarketCap data.
Garlinghouse declares a return to regular operations
“We’re closing this chapter once and for all and focusing on what’s most important – building the internet of Value. Lock in,” Garlinghouse added.
The announcement comes a day after the US district court denied a joint motion from the SEC and Ripple requesting an indicative ruling to reduce a $125 million civil penalty and reverse an order defining primary sales of XRP to institutional investors as securities transactions under Article 5 of the Securities Act.
“Ultimately, the Court granted in part the SEC’s request for an injunction and a civil penalty because the Court found that 'Ripple’s willingness to push the boundaries of the [Summary Judgment] Order evinces a likelihood that it will eventually, if it has not already, cross the line,” Judge Analisa Torres said.
XRP’s legal status “remains unchanged,” says Ripple lawyer
After the ruling, Ripple chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty said, “The ball is back in our court.”
“The Court gave us two options: dismiss our appeal challenging the finding on historic institutional sales — or press forward with the appeal,” Alderoty said.
“Either way, XRP’s legal status as not a security remains unchanged,” he said, adding:
“In the meantime, it’s business as usual.”
If the SEC also drops its appeal, it could bring to an end the legal battle between Ripple Labs and the US regulator that has lasted for more than four years.
In December 2020, the SEC filed the lawsuit against Ripple Labs, Chris Larsen and CEO Brad Garlinghouse.
The SEC’s central claim was that Ripple had raised $1.3 billion by selling XRP as an unregistered security, violating federal securities laws.
In August 2024, Garlinghouse argued that Torres’ decision to fine Ripple Labs $125 million was “a victory” for the firm, pointing out that it was a 94% reduction from the SEC’s initial plan to fine Ripple for $2 billion in damages.