SEC Drops Charges Against Ripple’s Garlinghouse, Larsen

SEC is still pursuing its case against Ripple, and the two parties agreed to meet and confer on a potential briefing schedule with respect to the pending issue in the case.

Written By:
Jahnu Jagtap

Last updated: February 12, 2024 6:26 AM

Published October 20, 2023 7:09 AM

Last updated: February 12, 2024 6:26 AM

Published October 20, 2023 7:09 AM

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has dropped all charges against Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Executive Chairman Chris Larsen. The charges stemmed from a 2020 lawsuit alleging that Ripple had sold XRP tokens as unregistered securities.

The SEC’s decision to drop the charges comes after a series of legal setbacks for the regulator. In July 2023, a judge ruled that the SEC had not adequately explained why XRP should be considered a security.

The judge also granted Ripple access to internal SEC documents that the regulator had been trying to keep hidden.

As per the recent court filing, both parties voluntarily agreed to dismiss the charges against the Ripple executives with prejudice.

The SEC’s decision to drop the charges is a major victory for Ripple and the crypto industry as a whole as these cannot be filled again.

Ripple CEO posted on X.com with victory counts of Ripple with SEC. The 3-0 score has made it a better day for him

Today was an even better day.
Ripple: 3
SEC: 0

In all seriousness, Chris and I (in a case involving no claims of fraud or misrepresentations) were targeted by the SEC in a ruthless attempt to personally ruin us and the company so many have worked hard to build for over a… https://t.co/YsQxewFnj9
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) October 19, 2023

However, the SEC is still pursuing its case against Ripple, and the two parties agreed to meet and confer on a potential briefing schedule with respect to the pending issue in the case.

As the charges are dropped SEC will no longer accuse Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse or Executive Chairman Chris Larsen of aiding and abetting the company in violating federal securities laws in its XRP transactions.

The outcome of the Ripple case is likely to have a ripple effect on other crypto cases that are currently underway. It is possible that the SEC will now be more hesitant to bring charges against crypto companies.

The dropping of the charges is also a positive development for XRP holders. The price of XRP has surged in the wake of the news.

The Ripple case has been closely watched by the crypto community. The outcome of the case is seen as a test of the SEC’s authority to regulate cryptocurrencies. The SEC’s decision to drop the charges is a setback for the regulator, but it is also a victory for the crypto industry.