🚀 XRP Moonshots as SEC and Ripple Bury the Hatchet! 🤑

Well, knock me down with a feather and call me a wizard, the legal brouhaha between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Ripple Labs has finally shuffled off this mortal coil. 🎉 After nearly five years of more twists and turns than a Lancre Morris dance, the two have decided to shake hands and call it a day. Or, as they say in Ankh-Morpork, “Let’s not meet in court again, eh?”

🤝 SEC and Ripple jointly dismissed appeals, ending the XRP lawsuit. (Finally, someone found the “Stop Arguing” button!)
💰 Ripple will cough up $50M, but hey, $75M of escrowed funds are coming back. (Swings and roundabouts, eh?)
🤖 XRP’s programmatic sales remain as non-securities. (Because, let’s face it, no one wants to call a robot a stockbroker.)

This all came about after a joint filing on Aug. 7 to dismiss appeals in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Ripple’s chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty, took to X (formerly known as Twitter, because why not rename things for fun?) on Aug. 8 to declare, “The case is over, and now we can get back to business.” Or, as Nanny Ogg would say, “Time to stop squabbling and start brewing the tea.”

Following the Commission’s vote today, the SEC and Ripple formally filed directly with the Second Circuit to dismiss their appeals.

The end…and now back to business. 🍻

– Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) August 7, 2025

Under the dismissal, the SEC withdrew its appeal of a 2023 ruling that XRP sales on public exchanges were not securities. Ripple, not to be outdone, dropped its cross-appeal over the finding that institutional XRP sales violated securities laws. Each side will bear its own legal costs, which, let’s be honest, probably paid for a small country’s GDP.

The decision clears the way for $125 million held in escrow since June to be disbursed: $50 million to the U.S. Treasury as a penalty (because who doesn’t love a good fine?) and $75 million returned to Ripple. A permanent injunction on institutional XRP sales remains in force, because even in victory, there’s always a catch.

From courtroom battle to final settlement

The SEC’s lawsuit, filed in December 2020, accused Ripple of raising $1.3 billion through unregistered securities sales of XRP. Ripple, of course, refuted the claims, insisting that XRP is not a security. (Because, as we all know, calling something a security is like calling a troll a ballet dancer-it just doesn’t fit.)

In July 2023, Judge Analisa Torres issued a split decision, holding that institutional sales satisfied the legal threshold under the Howey Test (which, let’s be honest, sounds like something a wizard would use to determine if a spell is profitable), but programmatic sales to retail buyers were not securities. The decision was hailed as a partial win for Ripple and the crypto industry, or as Rincewind would say, “At least we didn’t all end up in the Dungeon Dimensions.”

The case saw multiple appeals, settlement talks, and procedural setbacks before the joint dismissal. Ripple is not required to admit any wrongdoing as part of the resolution, and XRP’s classification for retail sales has not changed. (Because, let’s face it, admitting wrongdoing is so last millennium.)

With similar enforcement retreats observed in cases against Coinbase and Kraken, the outcome is being seen as a regulatory milestone, reflecting a softer stance by the SEC under incoming chair Paul Atkins. Or, as Lord Vetinari might put it, “Sometimes, it’s better to let the dogs bark and the caravan move on.”

Following the news, XRP rose 12%, with 24-hour trading volume reaching $9.54 billion, up nearly 140% from the previous day. Because, as we all know, nothing gets the market going like a good old-fashioned legal resolution. 🚀💹

2025-08-08 06:48

From courtroom battle to final settlement

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