SEC will drop its appeal against Ripple, CEO Garlinghouse says

The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s multi-year enforcement action against Ripple is finally coming to an end, according to the company’s CEO.

“This is it — the moment we’ve been waiting for. The SEC will drop its appeal — a resounding victory for Ripple, for crypto, every way you look at it,” Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse wrote on X on March 19.

“I’m finally able to announce that the case has ended; it’s over,” Garlinghouse said in the attached video to the X post.

The end of a long-running legal battle between Ripple and the SEC comes four years after the US securities regulator sued the company over an alleged $1.3-billion unregistered securities offering in December 2020.

Garlinghouse announces the news at the Digital Asset Summit

Garlinghouse’s announcement on the end of the SEC-Ripple case came amid the Digital Asset Summit in New York.

“Just a few minutes ago, right before I walked up here, I posted on X that we can now announce that the SEC is no longer pursuing their appeal in the Ripple case,” the CEO stated.

“We’re now closing a chapter in crypto history,” Garlinghouse said in the video on X, adding that “it’s time to make the United States the crypto capital of the world.”

“Ripple’s main message is about gratitude”

In the statement, Garlinghouse praised the new SEC leadership and executive and legislative branches of the US government for “seeking a rational and constructive way forward on crypto.”

The CEO emphasized that his main message is about gratitude, stating:

“It’s gratitude to everyone who stood by us, to every Ripple employee, to the incredible legal team here at Ripple, led by the best chief legal officer in the business. To all the gratitude, certainly to the XRP family, to our customers, to our partners.”

Garlinghouse expressed confidence that Ripple’s legal victory sends an “ominous sign for innovation around cryptocurrency in the United States” following years of “intimidation and terror” from Gary Gensler-headed SEC.

XRP spikes about 9% amid the news

Ripple-issued XRP (XRP) has recorded significant action amid the news, with its price surging about 9% in the first hour following the announcement, according to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView.

By publishing time, XRP is the third-largest crypto asset by market capitalization, at $146 billion.

XRP price surged 9% following SEC’s backdown. Source: TradingView

The news has also triggered a broader rally in crypto markets, with multiple tokens reacting with minor gains in the first hour following Garlinghouse’s statement.

Additional reporting by Turner Wright.

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