06/14/2025

Both the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Ripple filed a joint request for the release of $125 million from the escrow account as the case concluded, as the lawsuit against Ripple, initiated by the SEC in December 2020, finally came to an end.

Ripple and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) jointly filed a request on Thursday for the release of $125 million from the funds deposited in an escrow account to cover the settlement costs ordered by the court.

According to the message submitted by the parties, $50 million will be transferred to the SEC to cover the civil penalty imposed on Ripple, with the remaining amount of $75 million to be returned to Ripple, pending court approval. The petitioners' attorneys wrote:

"The proposed solution by both parties will preserve the resources of the Second Circuit by avoiding the need to adjudicate appeals, prevent any referral for further proceedings in this court, and conclude 4.5 years of hard litigation."

The SEC's lawsuit against Ripple is a landmark case in U.S. cryptocurrency regulation, and the formal end of the litigation will serve as a symbolic victory for a sector that has already achieved a major win in its fight for legal legitimacy in the U.S.

In July 2023, Judge Analisa Torres ruled that secondary sales of the XRP token are not securities, granting Ripple and the cryptocurrency sector a partial, albeit significant, victory.

However, the judge also ruled that the sale of XRP to investors during funding rounds is considered a sale of securities due to how the tokens were presented as compensation for investment in a business project.

Ripple was ordered to pay a fine of $125 million to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under a subsequent ruling issued by Judge Torres in August 2024.

Due to her dissatisfaction with the outcome of the case, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed an appeal in October 2024, about a month before the U.S. presidential elections in 2024.

Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple, announced that the SEC would drop its appeal in a post on platform X on March 19, accompanied by a video statement from the CEO celebrating the outcome as an 'effective end' to the case.

Shortly after the announcement, Ripple agreed to drop its joint appeal with the SEC. The cryptocurrency company also received a refund from a lower court, allowing it to retain $75 million of the original $125 million fine imposed in the August 2024 ruling.

Cointelegraph