SEC and Ripple have officially ended their case by jointly dismissing their appeals.
Judge Analisa Torres’ 2023 ruling now stands, confirming XRP sales on public exchanges are not securities.
Ripple will pay a $125 million penalty less than the SEC’s original $2 billion demand.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple Labs have officially settled the dispute that lasted almost 5 years. The two filed a joint motion to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals asking for the dismissal of their respective appeals, ending a case that had started at the end of 2020 about the the XRP token.
Appeals Dropped by Both Parties
On August 8, a court filing confirmed that the SEC and Ripple agreed to withdraw their appeals. The filing stated that each side would cover its own legal expenses. The joint dismissal followed a vote by the SEC, allowing the regulator to drop its appeal of a 2023 federal court decision.
Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty confirmed the development on social media, saying the company had officially filed with the court.
https://twitter.com/s_alderoty/status/1953573082821799981
The SEC had appealed the original decision made by Judge Analisa Torres, while Ripple had filed a cross-appeal in response. Both appeals are now formally abandoned. With both appeals dropped, the federal ruling issued by Judge Torres in July 2023 now stands as the final judgment. The court found that Ripple’s sale of XRP on public exchanges did not meet the legal definition of a security.
However, the same ruling determined that XRP sales to institutional investors were unregistered securities under U.S. law. Following this decision, Judge Torres ordered Ripple to pay a $125 million civil penalty. This was significantly lower than the $2 billion initially sought by the SEC. The agency filed an appeal in October 2023, which was later met with a cross-appeal from Ripple.
Previous Attempts to Settle
In April 2025, both sides jointly requested a break in the appeals process, signaling a probable resolution. In May, they reached a conclusion and asked the court to lift the issue and reduce the fine. However, Judge Torres denied the request in June. She stated Ripple must still comply with federal securities laws despite any shift in regulatory policy.
The original lawsuit was filed by the SEC in 2020 during the Trump administration. Since then, the agency has changed its approach to crypto enforcement. Under the current administration, the SEC has dropped several lawsuits against digital asset firms, including this one.
The end of the Ripple case confirms Judge Torres’ ruling as the standing legal outcome. The SEC and Ripple have agreed to bear their own legal costs, formally ending the dispute without further court involvement.
