XRP Lawsuit Showdown: Will the SEC Double Down on Appeals Against Ripple?

The SEC's next move in the Ripple case could redefine crypto regulation—or prove they're just chasing losses.

Gavel hanging by a thread

With the SEC's credibility on the line, commissioners face a brutal choice: escalate their expensive legal crusade or cut their losses. Insiders whisper the vote could split along partisan lines—again.

Ripple's billion-dollar chess game

XRP holders aren't sweating. The token's price barely flinched at the last SEC setback. Meanwhile, Ripple's war chest keeps growing—they just onboarded another three institutional clients last quarter.

Wall Street's watching (and laughing)

Traditional finance sharks smell blood. 'They spent $50M prosecuting to recover $10M,' snickers one hedge fund manager. 'Only in government accounting does that make sense.'

There’s a lot of confusion floating around the internet about the ongoing Ripple vs SEC case, with some posts claiming the SEC has already dropped its appeal against Ripple. However, the facts tell a different story.

To set the record straight: a judgment has already been made, and Ripple has decided to drop its cross-appeal. But as for the SEC’s appeal, it hasn’t officially been dismissed yet. Former SEC lawyer Marc Fagel clarified that both parties still need to file formal paperwork to dismiss their appeals. While it seems certain this will happen, the SEC is still going through its internal approval process.

When a social media user asked whether there’s a chance the SEC might vote to continue its appeal, Fagel explained that the SEC had already agreed to dismiss it as part of a prior settlement plan, though that plan was contingent on the court vacating an injunction, which didn’t happen. Now, there’s no reason for the SEC not to MOVE ahead with dropping the appeal outright.

They already voted to dismiss it (as part of a settlement contingent on the district court vacating the injunction, which the court declined to do). There is no reason for them not to vote to just dismiss it outright at this point, and they will do so.

Once the SEC completes its internal vote, both the SEC and Ripple will jointly file papers to officially end the appeals. At that point, the district court’s judgment will take full effect, and this long-running legal chapter will finally close.

This clarification follows Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse’s recent statement, where he announced, “Ripple is dropping our cross-appeal, and the SEC is expected to drop theirs, as they’ve previously said. We’re closing this chapter once and for all and focusing on what’s most important — building the Internet of Value.”

Until the formal paperwork is filed, the appeals process technically remains open, though all signs point to its official end in the coming weeks.