NEW YORK, March 19 (Reuters) – Ripple Labs announced that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has ceased its appeal from a court ruling which the regulator’s prior chief had stated would complicate cryptocurrency market oversight.
The SEC had been appealing a July 2023 decision by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres in Manhattan, stating that the XRP token sold by Ripple on public exchanges did not meet the legal definition of a security.
Torres also granted the SEC a partial victory against Ripple, asserting that $728 million of XRP sales to institutional investors should have adhered to securities laws.
She fined Ripple $125 million last August, but the fine was suspended while Ripple appealed to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan. That appeal is still ongoing.
In a post on X, Ripple Chief Executive Brad Garlinghouse referred to the end of the SEC appeal as a “resounding victory” and “long overdue surrender” by the regulator.
Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty posted separately that “Ripple is now in the driver’s seat and we’ll evaluate how best to pursue our cross appeal. Regardless, today is a day to celebrate.”
The SEC declined to comment.
Since U.S. President Donald Trump began his second White House term in January, the SEC has stepped back on crypto oversight.
Trump, meanwhile, nominated Paul Atkins, a Washington lawyer perceived as supportive of the crypto industry, to become SEC chair.
Atkins would replace Gary Gensler, who many in that industry disliked.
The SEC lawsuit accusing Ripple of offering unregistered securities started in December 2020, four weeks before Trump ended his first White House term.
— news from Reuters
