Ripple and SEC End Legal Battle by Dropping Appeals

Blockchain company Ripple and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) told a court Thursday (Aug. 7) that they have ended their appeals in a long-running legal battle. 

“Following the Commission’s vote today, the SEC and Ripple formally filed directly with the second circuit to dismiss their appeals,” Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty said in a Thursday post on X that reposted a copy of the two parties’ joint stipulation of dismissal. “The end … and now back to business.” 

The SEC posted a copy of the joint stipulation of dismissal on its website.

This move came after a federal judge rejected a joint motion by blockchain firm and the SEC to approve their proposed settlement in the lawsuit over the sale of unregistered securities. 

The case involved Ripple’s sales of the XRP token and the judge’s July 2023 ruling that while Ripple’s sales of XRP on public exchanges did not meet the legal definition of a security, its sales to institutional investors should have complied with securities laws. 

Ripple and the SEC appealed that decision but agreed to settle if the judge set aside her permanent injunction against violating the law that was imposed on Ripple and approved lowering the $125 million fine she imposed in August 2024 to $50 million.

The judge rejected the joint motion, saying Ripple and the SEC could choose to withdraw their appeals or to appeal the injunction.

In a Thursday litigation release announcing the joint stipulation to dismiss appeals, the SEC said that the court’s final judgment imposing the $125 million fine and the injunction prohibiting Ripple from violating the registration provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 will remain in effect after the dismissal of the cross-appeals.

The SEC filed its lawsuit in December 2020, alleging that Ripple conducted a $1.3 billion unregistered securities offering.

The judge’s ruling that XRP was covered by securities laws only when it was sold to institutional investors was handed down in June 2023.

In August 2024, a judge ordered Ripple to pay a civil penalty of $125 million, a figure that was below the $2 billion sought by the SEC.

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