The showdown between Ripple and the dry lasted four years, which plunged the cryptos market into increasing uncertainty. Thus, investors remained skeptical, while the XRP underwent constant pressure on its legitimacy. Against all expectations, the SEC has abandoned its prosecution, a decision perceived as a historic victory for Ripple and a decisive turning point for its native token.
Ripple lifts the sword of Damocles: the end of a long legal fight
The dry accused Ripple of having sold the XRP as an unregistered title, an allegation that weighed on the crypto ecosystem since December 2020.
However, the major turning point occurred in July 2023, when a federal judge ruled that the XRP could not be considered as a valuable value in the majority of transactions.
This decision put in difficulty the dry, which finally chose to put an end to the trial in March 2025.
Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, spoke on the subject: “The case is over”, before adding that this victory rehabilitates the image of XRP and Crypto industry as a whole.
The consequences were immediate:
- Bond of the price of the XRP by 13 %, or $ 2.53 according to CoinmarketCap;
- Reduction of regulatory uncertainty, which promotes a climate of confidence on the market;
- possible return of institutional investors, long chilly in the face of legal risks;
- Capitalization of the XRP estimated at $ 146 billion, still far behind Ethereum and its 246 billion.
Such a rise in power could redefine the place of the XRP in the crypto landscape, but the path to a domination of the market remains strewn with pitfalls.
The XRP against Ethereum: an ambition still distant?
While some observers believe that the XRP could compete with Ethereum, the reality of the market invites caution.
Thus, Sid Powell, CEO of Maple Finance, stresses that this legal victory stabilizes the regulatory future of the Token, but that the real battle is played out elsewhere. Indeed, Ethereum massively dominates decentralized finance (DEFI) with a total Value Locked (TVL) of $ 114 billion, while the XRP still struggles to win this universe.
The power of Ethereum is based on its solid ecosystem, which houses smart contracts, decentralized applications and advanced stuking solutions, where Ripple remains mainly focused on cross -border payments.
Nevertheless, the XRP has strategic assets. Its On-Demand Liquidity service (ODL) recorded $ 30 billion in transactions in 2023 and continues to attract major partnerships, especially with Standard Chartered Bank and Moneygram.
“This decision could restore confidence to investors and institutions, which would boost the adoption of Ripple”, estimated Ryan Lee, analyst at Bitget Research. However, to really worry Ethereum, the XRP will have to expand its field of action beyond payments and establish itself more deeply in the DEFI and the Smart Contracts.
The end of the conflict between Ripple and the SEC marks a regulatory victory for the entire crypto ecosystem, strengthening the legitimacy of these assets in front of the authorities. However, the possibility that the XRP dethrones Ethereum remains very hypothetical, except in the event of massive adoption by financial institutions and a strategic turn to the DEFI. However, this decision offers Ripple a unique opportunity: redefine its positioning and exploit this new climate of trust to accelerate its development.
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