After more than four years of legal battle, Ripple Labs decided to abandon his counter-appeal against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) American, thus putting an end to one of the most publicized cases in the crypto sector.
Ripple puts an end to his showdown with the dry
On March 25, 2025, Stuart Alderoty, Legal Director of Ripple, announced on the social network X that the company renounced continuing its incident call against the SEC before the Court of Appeal of the Second Circuit of the United States.
This decision comes after the judgment rendered in August 2024 by the Federal Court of the South District of New York, which had ordered Ripple to pay $ 125 million.
Under the terms of this agreementthe dry will only keep $ 50 million out of the 125 million initially required. The remaining 75 million will be returned to Ripple, representing a partial victory for the blockchain company. In addition, the Federal Agency will ask the Court to remove the standard injunction previously imposed on the request of the SEC.
This announcement follows the declaration of the CEO of Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse, who had revealed a few days earlier that the SEC would also abandon his own appeal concerning the judgment of August 2024.
In order for this agreement to be final, he must still receive the approval of the Commission, follow the drafting of the final documents and go through the usual legal proceedings.
A political and regulatory context in full evolution
The dry affair against Ripple, initiated in December 2020 under the chairmanship of Donald Trump, was one of the longest law enforcement proceedings against a major American company in the Crypto sector. This legal battle prompted Ripple to get more involved in American policy.
During the electoral cycle of 2024, Ripple paid $ 45 million to the Fairshake political action committee to support the candidates favorable to cryptos. The company also promised $ 5 million in XRP to the Trump inauguration fund.
Despite these contributions, Stuart Alderoty stressed that the abandonment of the SEC proceedings was “independent” of any political donation.
Since Donald Trump's electoral victory against Kamala Harris on November 5, 2024, Ripple leaders have participated in several official events in Washington. Brad Garlinghouse notably attended a summit at the White House on March 7, where President Trump discussed his projects concerning stablecoins and the establishment of a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies.
On March 27, 2025, the members of the Senate banking committee will examine the appointment of Paul Atkins, former SEC commissioner, to the presidency of the agency. He should be asked about his positions concerning Crypto regulations and his potential conflicts of interest, which could have important implications for the future of the sector.
In short, this resolution of the Ripple affair potentially marks a turning point in the regulatory approach to cryptos in the United States, with consequences that could affect the entire industry.
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