SEC Has Officially Filed a Settlement Agreement with Ripple, Paving the Way for Lifting the Ban and Releasing Escrowed Funds.
a a> submitted a with Labs and company leaders, marking an important step in ending the lawsuit that has lasted since December 2020. According to the Litigation Release published on 5/8/2025, SEC agreed to resolve the case accusing Ripple of selling XRP tokens as unregistered securities, with the condition that Ripple pay a fine of $50 million, which is only 40% of the total $125 million currently frozen.
< h2>Legal Sequence Before Officially Closing the Casethe settlement has been announced, the lawsuit has not immediately end.. Lawyer James K. Filan, a legal expert closely following the case, analyzed the roadmap that must be followed before the:
"U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres must issue a ruling confirming she will lift the ban and approve the release of escrowed funds," Filan explained. "Then, both will request the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to return the file to the district court, byby submitting a formal motion to cancel the ban and disburse the funds."
When these steps are completed, SEC and Ripple will jointly request the Court of Appeals to dismiss appeals from both sides, officially putting an end to the matter.
The lawsuit was initiated on 12/22/2020 in the Southern District Court of New York, accusing Ripple Labs,,, CEO BradLinghouse and and co-founder Chris Larsen of conducting unregistered securities offerings through XRP token sales. After nearly three three and a half years of litigation, this settlement is considered a significant victory for And create an important precedent for the crypto industry.
In the statement, SEC emphasized that agreeing to settle does not reflect an assessment of the legal allegations' right or wrong, but "based on the assessment that this solution will support the commission's efforts to modernize and reform its approach to the crypto industry." The commission also confirmed that this agreement does not represent their stance in other cases.
The crypto industry has long has long predicted this move move move after ripple's revealed CEO revealed that SEC is planning to close the lawsuit. The decision to settle with Ripple is one of many signs indicating that SEC is changing changing its approach to cryptocurrencies, including suspending or canceling orsome lawand many public roundtables to collaborate with the industry.
