Ripple opts not to cross-appeal as SEC case nears resolution

Ripple will keep $75 million and the SEC $50 million from the $125 million fine, while both sides move to wrap up the four-year case

Business•March 25, 2025, 2:35PM EDT
UPDATED: March 25, 2025, 5:50PM EDT
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Ripple opts not to cross-appeal as SEC case nears resolution

Quick Take

  • Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty posted on Wednesday on X his potential “last update” on the case.
  • Alderoty noted that this would all be subject to a commission vote, final documents and standard court processes
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Ripple has decided not to file a cross-appeal, signaling that its long-running legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is nearing an end, the firm's chief legal officer said Wednesday.

Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty posted on Wednesday on X his potential "last update" on the case following four years of back and forth between the two. Last week, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said that the SEC had pulled its appeal of part of an earlier ruling.

A cross-appeal allows a party in a suit to challenge different aspects of a court ruling. According to Alderoty, the SEC will retain $50 million of the fine held in an interest-bearing escrow account, while the remaining $75 million will be returned to Ripple.

"The SEC will keep $50M of the $125M fine (already in an interest-bearing escrow in cash), with the balance returned to Ripple," he said. "The agency will also ask the Court to lift the standard injunction that was imposed earlier at the SEC’s request."

The SEC declined to comment. Alderoty noted that this would all be subject to a commission vote, final documents and standard court processes. 

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Analisa Torres ruled in July 2023 that some of Ripple’s sales, called programmatic, of XRP did not violate securities laws because of a blind bid process in place for them. Torres, however, ruled that other direct token sales to institutional investors were securities.

That second part regarding institutional investors meant that Ripple would be fined $125 million. 

The SEC has taken on a new direction since the new Trump administration rolled in, following former Chair Gary Gensler's exit in January. Under the previous Biden administration, Gensler had said most cryptocurrencies were securities and called on crypto platforms to register with the agency. While the agency brought cases against major crypto exchanges and firms under Gensler’s reign, the case against Ripple was brought before Gensler became chair.

Over the past several weeks, the SEC has rescinded controversial crypto accounting guidance,  looked to re-examine rules affecting crypto, created a crypto task force and issued statements on memecoins and proof-of-work.