The lawsuit between Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) started in 2020, with the SEC accusing Ripple of illegally raising more than $1.3 billion in an unregistered securities offering by selling XRP. The case has had several ups and downs, with Ripple securing some key court wins.
In 2023, Judge Torres ruled that Ripple’s XRP sales to retail investors on crypto exchanges did not violate securities laws, but found that direct sales to institutional investors did violate federal securities laws. Ripple was fined $125 million, and the SEC appealed the ruling. Several legal experts have speculated that the lawsuit could be resolved with a potential $125 million settlement if the SEC leadership changes.
Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 US presidential elections could bring an end to the lawsuit, as he promised to fire the SEC’s Chairman Gary Gensler. Some experts predict that the new agency leader might dispose of all non-fraud crypto lawsuits filed by the regulator. Fred Rispoli, another US attorney following the Ripple v.
SEC case, believes that the election of Trump will lead to “extreme changes” at the agency. He predicts that the lawsuit could be dismissed, but the $125 million penalty is the biggest win the SEC can gain. Rispoli predicts that the regulator’s new potential leadership will “recognize this whole case was idiotic and settle at that point.”
