XRPโs price jumped over 3% on Friday just hours after Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the company is dropping its cross-appeal against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and expects the regulator to do the same.
โRipple is dropping our cross-appeal, and the SEC is expected to drop their appeal, as theyโve previously said,โ Garlinghouse said in an X post on Friday. XRP (XRP), the cryptocurrency associated with Ripple Labs, spiked 3.36% to $2.18 just five hours after the post, according to CoinMarketCap data.
Garlinghouse declares a return to regular operations
โWeโre closing this chapter once and for all and focusing on whatโs most important โ building the internet of Value. Lock in,โ Garlinghouse added.
The announcement comes a day after the US district court denied a joint motion from the SEC and Ripple requesting an indicative ruling to reduce a $125 million civil penalty and reverse an order defining primary sales of XRP to institutional investors as securities transactions under Article 5 of the Securities Act.
โUltimately, the Court granted in part the SECโs request for an injunction and a civil penalty because the Court found that ‘Rippleโs willingness to push the boundaries of the [Summary Judgment] Order evinces a likelihood that it will eventually, if it has not already, cross the line,โ Judge Analisa Torres said.
XRPโs legal status โremains unchanged,โ says Ripple lawyer
After the ruling, Ripple chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty said, โThe ball is back in our court.โ
โThe Court gave us two options: dismiss our appeal challenging the finding on historic institutional sales โ or press forward with the appeal,โ Alderoty said.
โEither way, XRPโs legal status as not a security remains unchanged,โ he said, adding:
โIn the meantime, itโs business as usual.โ
If the SEC also drops its appeal, it could bring to an end the legal battle between Ripple Labs and the US regulator that has lasted for more than four years.
Related: US judge denies Ripple, SEC joint request to reduce $125M penalty
In December 2020, the SEC filed the lawsuit against Ripple Labs, Chris Larsen and CEO Brad Garlinghouse.
The SECโs central claim was that Ripple had raised $1.3 billion by selling XRP as an unregistered security, violating federal securities laws.ย
In August 2024, Garlinghouse argued that Torresโ decision to fine Ripple Labs $125 million was โa victoryโ for the firm, pointing out that it was a 94% reduction from theย SECโs initial plan to fine Ripple for $2 billionย in damages.
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