SEC and Ripple Near Legal Settlement: Final Court Decision Pending

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple are one step away from resolving their ongoing legal battle, but the case won’t officially close until the court grants final approval.

The SEC and Ripple have made significant progress. On August 15th (24th of Mordad), both parties agreed to withdraw their appeals and cover the associated legal costs. This move marks the likely end of nearly five years of legal proceedings.

However, this settlement is not yet final until the appeals court formally accepts the request to dismiss the appeals, meaning the case technically remains open. Legal experts consider this step to be more administrative than substantive.

Supporters of Ripple, including its legal team, are confident that the case could be wrapped up soon. The lawsuit, initially filed by the SEC in December 2020 (Azar 1399), alleged that Ripple raised $1.3 billion by selling XRP tokens without registering them as securities.

In a landmark ruling in July 2023 (Tir 1402), Judge Torres concluded that retail sales of XRP do not fall under securities regulations. However, sales to institutional investors are still subject to these regulations. As a result, Ripple was fined $125 million.

Nevertheless, many cryptocurrency supporters view this potential settlement as a pivotal moment. They believe this outcome could serve as a significant precedent for how U.S. regulators will handle other digital assets in the future.

“Ripple was never an ‘outsider’ fighting against the U.S. government. From the beginning, was it not a hidden representative? The lawsuit, the drama, the ‘David vs. Goliath’ story… all of these were just to make Ripple appear under pressure. The company is connecting new financial rails to the global system and is quietly operating within U.S. soil.” – Pumpius, Analyst