- Ripple says the SEC has dropped its case against it.
- XRP surged on the news.
“It’s over.”
That’s the message from Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse as he announced that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s long-running lawsuit against the XRP developer will be dropped.
“This is it — the moment we’ve been waiting for. The SEC will drop its appeal — a resounding victory for Ripple, for crypto, every way you look at it,” Garlinghouse said in an X post.
“It seems very clear to me that this case was doomed from the start,” Garlinghouse said in a video shared on X.
This is it – the moment we’ve been waiting for. The SEC will drop its appeal – a resounding victory for Ripple, for crypto, every way you look at it.
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) March 19, 2025
The future is bright. Let's build. pic.twitter.com/7WsD0C92Cm
XRP surged by almost 10% on the news and is now trading at $2.55. The total crypto market also surged by 0.8% to $2.8 trillion.
Garlinghouse’s announcement caps a legal saga that kicked off when the regulator sued Ripple for allegedly selling unregistered securities. Ripple has denied the accusations.
“I truly felt like I knew then that Ripple was not only on the right side of the law, but I felt that we were also going to be proven to be on the right side of history,” Garlinghouse said.
Ripple uses XRP to facilitate cross-border payments.
Judge Analisa Torres ruled last year that XRP was not a security, but the regulator has appealed the ruling.
The SEC hasn’t confirmed Ripple’s announcement.
“We decline comment,” an SEC spokesperson told DL News.
Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s chief legal officer, also celebrated the end of the case.
“Today, Ripple moves forward — stronger than ever,” Alderoty tweeted. “This landmark case set a precedent for the domestic crypto industry. With the SEC dropping its appeal, Ripple is now in the driver’s seat and we’ll evaluate how best to pursue our cross appeal. Regardless, today is a day to celebrate this victory.”
The news also highlights the relaxing of crypto laws under US President Donald Trump, who has pledged to transform the US into “the crypto capital of the planet.”
Among the XRP army, Trump’s victory raised expectations that the SEC would drop its case.
“This optimism is reflected in price movements,” said CoinShares analyst James Butterfill, and in what he estimates were inflows of some $835 million since the US election.
Over the past few months, the SEC has dropped or halted similar cases against Coinbase, Robinhood, and Kraken, to mention a few.
Those cases were instigated under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who stepped down on January 20 when Trump was inaugurated.
Garlinghouse’s announcement also paves the way for the SEC to approve a smattering of XRP exchange-traded fund applications under SEC review, Butterfill said.
Northstake, a virtual asset service provider, estimates that investors will pour up to $800 million into XRP ETFs in the first week alone.
JPMorgan predicts investors will pour $8 billion into XRP funds in their first year of trading.
Update March 19: This story has been updated to reflect that the SEC declined to comment.
Eric Johansson is DL News’ News Editor. Got a tip? Email at eric@dlnews.com.