On Thursday last, Ripple and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), with all the grace of two reluctant dance partners, filed a joint motion to release the $125 million ensconced in an escrow account—funds set aside to settle the matter so famously drawn out in the courts. The motion, like a long-overdue declaration, proposes that $50 million be handed over to the SEC as a civil penalty against Ripple, whilst the remaining $75 million shall be returned to Ripple, pending the court’s esteemed approval. The attorneys, presumably quite fatigued from this drawn-out affair, penned the following words:
“The parties’ proposed resolution will preserve the resources of the Second Circuit by avoiding the need to decide appeals, obviate any remand for further proceedings in this Court, and bring 4.5 years of hard-fought litigation to an end.”
Indeed, such an end to the litigation, a case of great consequence for the regulations surrounding the world of cryptocurrency, shall surely be a most symbolic victory for an industry that has already, in many respects, secured its place in the annals of legal legitimacy in the United States. Let us all pause for a moment and perhaps offer a quiet, well-earned sigh of relief.
And So, The Case Winds Down, Following a Ruling in 2024
It was in July 2023 that Judge Analisa Torres, with the air of one bringing order to chaos, ruled that secondary sales of the XRP token are not securities, thus granting Ripple and the wider cryptocurrency industry a partial yet considerable triumph. Ah, but not all was as sweet as it seemed. For Judge Torres also found that the sale of XRP tokens to investors during funding rounds did indeed constitute securities sales, for the tokens were, quite unfortunately, offered as compensation for investment in a business enterprise.
As per a ruling in August 2024, Ripple was to pay a rather princely sum of $125 million to the SEC, a penalty that was hardly as pleasant as a cup of tea on a fine afternoon.
Not content with the outcome, the SEC, in an act of persistence worthy of admiration (or perhaps annoyance?), filed an appeal in October 2024, just a month before the US presidential election. The drama of it all, I dare say, could rival the finest of our novels.
But lo! In a turn that could only be described as a delightful twist of fate, Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple, announced that the SEC had dropped its appeal, a statement made on March 19, accompanied by a video message wherein the CEO declared the case “effectively” over. Oh, the relief! The end of an era, one might say. Or perhaps, the start of something new?
With that, Ripple, in a show of magnanimity or perhaps exhaustion, agreed to drop its cross-appeal, and lo and behold, secured a refund from a lower court, allowing it to keep $75 million of the $125 million penalty. Truly, this case has seen more twists than a gothic novel, with one victory after another and a refund to top it all off!
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2025-06-13 23:34