SEC ends legal battle with Ripple

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has decided to drop its appeal against Ripple, a leading provider of digital asset infrastructure. The news was announced on the X platform by Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, who called the decision a major victory for the company and the broader cryptocurrency industry.

Ripple provides a platform that allows financial services institutions to send cross-border payments in real time, engage in tokenization and digital asset transactions, and meet regulatory compliance requirements. The SEC's decision ends a four-year legal conflict that began in December 2020 when the SEC accused Ripple of conducting an unregistered securities offering worth $1.3 billion.

Garlinghouse described the legal battle as "the first major attack launched in the cryptocurrency war." This resulted in an estimated loss of $15 billion for holders of Ripple's digital currency XRP. However, Ripple won on key legal points during the lawsuit, establishing that XRP is not a security, which is now legally recognized.

After the lawsuit ended, Garlinghouse expressed optimism about the future of Ripple and the cryptocurrency industry. His statement read: "The future is bright. Let's keep building." With the legal battle over, it appears Ripple can now focus on its operations and the development of its digital asset infrastructure.