SEC and Ripple Sign $50M Settlement, Ask New York Judge for Green Light
SEC and Ripple reach $50 million settlement, ask New York judge for approval
U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres last year ordered Ripple to pay the SEC a $125 million fine. Under the new settlement, Ripple will be able to return a significant portion of those funds.
Cheyenne Ligon | Edited by Nikhilesh De May 8, 2025 9:26 PM
Key points:
- Ripple Labs and the SEC have reached a settlement that includes a $50 million fine pending judicial approval, ending their long-running legal battle.
- Ripple first announced an agreement in principle in March.
Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have officially reached a settlement that, if approved by a court, will end their years-long legal battle.
Under a settlement filed Thursday in New York, both sides agreed to a $50 million fine — a fraction of the $125 million fine originally set by Judge Analisa Torres of the Southern District of New York (SDNY) last year and a tiny fraction of the massive $2 billion fine the SEC had originally sought.
In her 2023 ruling, Judge Torres found that Ripple violated securities laws by selling its XRP token to institutional investors, but did not violate securities laws by listing XRP on exchanges for retail customers to purchase in a lawsuit that was originally filed in 2020 by then-SEC Chairman Jay Clayton (who currently serves as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York).
The SEC, then under former Chairman Gary Gensler, appealed Torres’ decision, leading Ripple to cross-appeal. Under the settlement agreement, both parties agree to drop their lawsuits. Thursday’s filing confirms Ripple’s March announcement that it had reached an agreement in principle with the SEC.
Read More: Ripple Gets $75M Court Award From SEC, Drops Cross-Appeal
The agreement comes amid a major reduction in the number of SEC investigations and litigations into cryptocurrencies that began under Gensler. After U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January and appointed cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins as the new SEC chairman, the agency changed course on cryptocurrency regulation.
Amid these events, the price of XRP increased by 9%, continuing its 24-hour growth.
Ripple has not yet responded to CoinDesk's request for comment.
