XRP Surges 11% As Ripple, SEC Drop Appeals, Ending Landmark Legal Fight

The XRP price surged almost 12% after Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission ended their years-long legal battle, jointly dismissing appeals in a case that has loomed large over crypto regulation since 2020.

According to an Aug. 7 court filing, the Second Circuit Appeals Court acknowledged the dismissal of both Ripple and the SEC’s appeals, effectively finalizing the 2023 ruling by Judge Analisa Torres. The court also noted that each party will bear its own legal costs and fees.

“The end,” said Ripple’s chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty in an Aug. 7 X post. “And now back to business.”

Ripple Still To Pay $125 Million Fine

While Ripple will still pay a $125 million fine over institutional XRP sales—far less than the $2 billion originally sought by the SEC—the joint dismissal means that the 2023 ruling by New York judge Analisa Torres stands as precedent. Her decision was at the heart of the appeals filed last year and withdrawn this week.

Torres had ruled that XRP sold on public exchanges did not meet the definition of a security. However, she also ruled that tokens sold to institutional investors did, resulting in an order for Ripple to pay $125 million in fines to the SEC. 

That fine and the ruling are what prompted the appeal from the SEC in October last year, which Ripple then cross-appealed. These appeals were dismissed in the latest filing. 

$21M Wiped From Shorts As XRP Price Surges

The XRP price surged almost 12% in the last 24 hours to trade at $3.33 as of 5:20 a.m. EST. That leaves it about 13% short of its all-time high (ATH) of $3.84 set in January 2018, according to data from CoinMarketCap. 

Over $21 million in XRP short positions were liquidated, CoinGlass data shows.