Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced the SEC finally dropped its appeal against the firm

XRP, Ripple's native token, is up 9% on the news. The decision is a big win for the crypto ecosystem

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will not appeal a judge’s ruling in its case against Ripple, according to an announcement by the crypto firm’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse.

This signals the agency is dropping the case.

The move had been anticipated following a similar decision by the SEC to drop its case against Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) after a judge ruled in the exchange’s favor. Both cases were closely watched by the crypto industry, largely viewed as part of the previous administration’s “regulation by enforcement” stance.

The latest decision also continues to highlight the new administration’s departure from former Chair Gary Gensler’s anti-crypto ideology.

“This is it - the moment many of us have been waiting for. The SEC will drop its appeal against Ripple in a resounding victory for the company, for crypto, and no matter how you slice it. The future is bright. Let’s build,” Garlinghouse announced on X.

“Today, Ripple moves forward—stronger than ever. This landmark case set a precedent for the domestic crypto industry.

With the SEC dropping its appeal, 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 ...”

The SEC sued Ripple in 2020, alleging that it sold XRP as an unregistered security. In January 2023, the judge ruled that XRP was a security when Ripple sold it to institutional clients but wasn’t a security when XRP sold to retail traders.

In August 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ordered Ripple to pay a $125 million civil penalty. Initially, the SEC had sought $2 billion. In October, the SEC appealed the decision, and later that month, Ripple filed a “cross-appeal,” or an appeal to that appeal.

The SEC has not yet formally announced that it’s dropping the appeal, but this pattern follows other similar decisions such as its case against Coinbase, which CEO Brian Armstrong was first to announce would be dropped and then later was officially confirmed by the SEC.

The decision is also welcome news for the chances of an XRP ETF to be approved, several of which are in the works.