Ripple CEO: SEC drops appeal of case against crypto company

(The Center Square) – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the Trump administration is dropping its appeal in its lawsuit against Ripple, a blockchain-based digital payment company, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said Wednesday.

The announcement sent the value of Ripple's cryptocurrency, XRP, surging about 11% for the day. XRP is the third-largest cryptocurrency by market value, behind only Bitcoin and Ether.

"As many of you know, just over four years ago, the United States SEC filed its lawsuit against Ripple. I'm finally able to announce that this case has ended. It's over," Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said in a video statement shared on X.

The SEC sued San Francisco-based Ripple in 2020, alleging it broke U.S. securities laws by selling XRP without registering it with the agency. But Ripple fought back, arguing the lawsuit was government overreach and that its currency was not a security to be regulated by the federal agency.

In 2023, a judge in the Southern District of New York ruled that XRP is "not necessarily a security on its face," according to CNBC. The Biden Administration appealed, but that appeal was dropped by the Trump administration.

"It was very clear to me that this case was doomed from the start," Garlinghouse said. "In so many ways, this was the first major shot fired in the war on crypto."

He added: "Today is a victory, and a long overdue surrender by the SEC."