Ripple Settles with SEC for $50M
Ripple settled to pay $50 million to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), ending a multi-year court battle over the designation of XRP.
Filed in December 2020, the SEC complaint accused Ripple of selling XRP as an unregistered security. A partial court win in 2023 validated Ripple’s institutional sales but pointed to public exchange sales as violations. Ripple initially set aside $125 million in escrow for fines but now anticipates recovering most of it, including interest.
In a Fox Business interview, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse framed the decision as a victory and attributed it to fresh SEC leadership and the Trump administration.
“It’s just evidence that the old [Gary] Gensler SEC was in the wrong here,” Garlinghouse added.
Trump Administration Fosters Crypto Revolution
Ripple allegedly bankrolled Donald Trump, donating millions to his campaign and $5 million of XRP to his January inauguration.
Following Trump’s re-election, the SEC dismissed various suits filed against crypto businesses like Coinbase and Uniswap. Garlinghouse and fellow crypto leaders state that this shift embodies a better approach to regulation, albeit called “crypto-crony capitalism” by detractors.
Ripple Grows Through Stealt Highway Purchase
With regulatory scrutiny waning, Ripple made its own move—acquiring best-of-breed broker Hidden Road in a $1.25 billion deal, the company’s largest so far.
Garlinghouse said it would have been unthinkable under the previous SEC regime. The acquisition puts large Wall Street institutions like BlackRock in reach to invest in crypto through a trusted prime broker. Ripple’s global team now has 1,100 employees.
“As an American citizen. it didn’t make sense to invest in a market where we couldn’t sign customers,” Garlinghouse said.
New Stablecoin Launch and U.S. Focus
Ripple also launched a new stablecoin under a New York Department of Financial Services trust license, reaffirming its U.S. focus.
In the future, Garlinghouse is optimistic about new laws. He expects federal stablecoin regulation and changing market structure to proceed “sooner rather than later.”
XRP and Bitcoin Rally With U.S. Policy Shift
XRP is the best-performing major cryptocurrency in the last 90 days. The rally followed Trump’s re-election and Ripple’s legal resolution.
Garlinghouse also boosted his Bitcoin price forecast from $175,000 to $200,000 at the end of the year following the sudden turn in U.S. regulatory environment.
“People don’t realize how the world’s largest economy. shifted from headwinds, hostility to tailwinds,” he said.
