SEC Drops Ripple Appeal Signaling Shift in Crypto Regulation — But Uncertainty Remains

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple jointly dropping their appeals shows a big shift in how U.S. regulators handle crypto from now on. Experts say it signals that the SEC is moving away from tough enforcement and toward clearer rules – but they warn the overall crypto landscape is still uncertain.

The joint dismissal ends a five-year legal battle that started in 2020, when the SEC sued Ripple for selling XRP, the native token of Ripple's payment network, as unregistered securities. In August 2024, Ripple was fined $125 million, far less than the $2 billion the SEC sought – a ruling the SEC appealed in October.

Now that the legal battle is officially over, experts are saying a major shift is underway. Charley Cooper, COO at Ava Labs and former senior official at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), called the end of the case “the death knell of the SEC’s attempt to regulate crypto through enforcement actions.”

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