Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has announced that the company is dropping its cross-appeal against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, putting an end to the lengthy legal battle that originally started in December 2020.
The SEC is also expected to drop its appeal, which was filed in October under the leadership of former head Gary Gensler.
As reported by U.Today, Judge Analisa Torres recently denied a key joint motion from Ripple and the SEC to amend the final judgment that dates back to August 2024.
The SEC previously agreed to reduce the monetary penalty to $50 million and asked to dissolve the injunction against Ripple's institutional sales as part of its settlement agreement with the company. However, the parties failed to persuade the court to wrap up the case with more favorable terms for Ripple.
Ripple and the SEC did not manage to meet the stringent requirements for amending a final judgment, according to the judge. The new position adopted by the SEC seemed inconsistent and ultimately unconvincing. Judge Torres stressed that public judgements are supposed to serve the public interest.
The company was expected to either continue pursuing its cross-appeal or drop it and settle for the original penalty ($125 million) as well as the permanent injunction. Unsurprisingly, Ripple picked the second option.
XRP is still in the red despite the announcement, currently trading at $2.11, according to CoinGecko data.
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov
U.Today Editorial Team