XRP Soars As SEC's ''Stunning Capitulation'' Sees It Drop Case Against Ripple's Garlinghouse, Larsen

XRP Soars As SEC’s ”Stunning Capitulation” Sees It Drop Case Against Ripple’s Garlinghouse, Larsen

Updated: 20 October 2023

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XRP surged more than 8% after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dropped charges against two top Ripple executives in what they called a ”stunning capitulation” by the regulator.

The SEC said on Oct. 19 that it is dismissing its lawsuit against Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen over their alleged involvement in the illegal sale of securities.

Ripple called the SEC’s decision a ”landmark surrender” and said it is a third consecutive victory over the regulator after a July ruling that declared its XRP token is not a security when sold to the public and an October decision to deny the SEC’s request to appeal that ruling.

“For nearly three years, Chris and I have been the subject of baseless allegations from a rogue regulator with a political agenda,” Garlinghouse said. “Instead of looking for the criminals stealing customer funds on offshore exchanges that were courting political favour, the SEC went after the good guys – along with our entire company of innovators and entrepreneurs – who are building a regulated business based in the US.”

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

XRP Records Biggest Single-Day Gain In Three Months

XRP pared some gains after recording its biggest single one-day advance in three months after the news broke yesterday. It traded at $5.185 at 10:11am ET, up 7.3% in the past 24 hours. XRP is the world’s fifth-largest digital token with a market cap of $27.6 billion.

The SEC is not dropping its case against Ripple though, and said it will confer with the company on the pending issue in the case, ”What remedies are proper against Ripple for its Section 5 violations with respect to its Institutional Sales of XRP.”

It said the two parties requested until November 9 to propose a schedule to the Court on the matter, and if there is no agreement to then seek a briefing schedule from the Court on a contested basis.

Judge Analisa Torres gave Ripple a partial victory in the case against the SEC in July, concluding that XRP is not a security when sold to the public. But she also ruled that XRP is a security when sold to institutional investors.

The lawsuit was brought against Ripple and its executives in December 2020, when they were accused of selling unregistered securities to generate a profit of more than $1.3 billion.

The SEC has adopted a tough stance against the crypto industry this year, prompting critics to accuse it of using a regulation-by-enforcement strategy. The industry has accused the SEC of overreaching.