Ripple Officially Wins Its Case Against the SEC, Setting a Precedent for the Crypto Industry

In a landmark victory for the cryptocurrency industry, Ripple has officially won its prolonged legal battle against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has dropped its appeal against a lower court ruling in the case with Ripple, bringing the case to an end. The SEC’s decision not to proceed further with the case will see the case closed.

This development comes after several victories for Ripple, with the lower court ruling that XRP is not a security. The SEC had decided to appeal against this ruling in January, shortly after Chair Gary Gensler stepped down from his role at the agency.

Many in the crypto sphere had hoped that Gensler’s departure would bring about a shift in the SEC’s stance on cryptocurrencies, and this recent decision by the SEC to drop the appeal could indicate just that.

The SEC’s case against crypto startup, Ripple, began in December 2020 when the agency sued the company for allegedly raising $1.3 billion from an unregistered offering of XRP. The agency’s complaint focused on the nature of XRP and whether it should be classified as a security.

The SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple had a significant impact on the crypto industry, especially in the U.S. After the SEC sued several major crypto exchanges, including Binance and Coinbase, for allegedly selling unregistered securities, many exchanges decided to delist XRP.

However, in a major victory for Ripple and the crypto community, Judge Analisa Torres ruled in July 2023 that large portions of the SEC’s case were barred by the agency’s statute of limitations. Moreover, Judge Torres ruled that the SEC failed to adequately plead its case for programmatic sales of XRP.

While Judge Torres ruled in favor of the SEC on the aspect of institutional sales being securities, this part of the case was dropped in December 2023 after the SEC lost its appeal against a lower court ruling in the case with crypto exchange, FTX. The lower court ruled that the agency’s cases must be covered by the agency’s statute of limitations, which began in 2018.

After the lower court ruled in favor of Ripple in December 2023, closing the case, the SEC had 60 days to decide whether to appeal against the ruling, which would have brought the case to the Supreme Court.

After several reports claimed that the SEC was planning to drop the appeal, the agency confirmed the decision in a recent filing. The agency also confirmed that it would not be seeking a "further stay" of the lower court’s judgment.

The SEC’s decision to drop the appeal will see the case closed. This ruling is a major victory for Ripple and the crypto industry as a whole.

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