Ripple has agreed to withdraw its counter-appeal against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as the legal battle with the regulator comes to an end.

The final crossing of t’s and dotting of i’s – and what should be my last update on SEC v Ripple ever…

Last week, the SEC agreed to drop its appeal without conditions. @Ripple has now agreed to drop its cross-appeal. The SEC will keep $50M of the $125M fine (already in an…
— Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) March 25, 2025

“Last week, the SEC agreed to withdraw its appeal without any conditions. Now, Ripple has decided to drop its counterclaim,” wrote the company’s chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty.

In December 2020, the SEC sued Ripple, accusing the company of selling unregistered securities in the form of XRP worth $1.3 billion. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen were also named as defendants.

In July 2023, Judge Analisa Torres of the Southern District of New York ruled that Ripple’s programmatic sales and other distributions of XRP did not constitute an offer or sale of investment contracts. However, the decision stated that sales of the token to institutional investors violated securities laws.

The court rejected the SEC’s interlocutory appeal, stating that it lacked sufficient evidence and would not significantly advance the final resolution of the case.

Following this, the SEC withdrew its lawsuit against Garlinghouse and Larsen. The parties reached a settlement, eliminating further charges on the same grounds.

In August 2024, Judge Torres issued a final ruling, fining Ripple $125 million—far less than the SEC’s original demand of $2 billion. In October, the SEC appealed the verdict.

The regulator then took steps to challenge previous court decisions, arguing that the law had been misapplied. The SEC sought to revisit the sales and offers of XRP on digital asset platforms, the involvement of Garlinghouse and Larsen, and token distributions “in exchange for non-cash compensation.”

“The SEC will retain $50 million of the $125 million fine (already placed in an interest-bearing escrow account), while the remainder will be returned to Ripple. The agency will also request the court to lift the standard injunction previously imposed at its request,” Alderoty explained.

According to him, the next steps in the case depend on “the SEC Commission’s vote, the finalization of documents, and routine court procedures.”

Recall that the SEC has also preliminarily agreed to drop its lawsuit against ConsenSys, end its investigation into Uniswap Labs, and withdraw claims against the crypto division of online broker Robinhood.