The recent decision by the US Securities and Exchange Commission to dismiss its prolonged lawsuit against Ripple Labs, the creator of the XRP Ledger blockchain network, marks a “win for the industry,” according to Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse at the 2025 Digital Asset Summit held in New York.
On March 19, Garlinghouse announced that the SEC would be dropping its case against Ripple, concluding four years of legal battles regarding an alleged unregistered securities offering amounting to $1.3 billion in 2020.
“This feels like a triumph for the industry and the beginning of a new era,” Garlinghouse remarked on March 19 during the Summit, which Cointelegraph covered.
The CEO of Ripple confirmed the SEC’s decision to withdraw its case against the company.
Related: SEC will discontinue its appeal against Ripple, as stated by CEO Garlinghouse
Significant Turnaround
The dismissal represents a major—if not the most crucial—turnaround by the SEC during the presidency of Donald Trump.
The agency has also withdrawn charges against other cryptocurrency firms, such as Coinbase, Kraken, and Uniswap, for similar alleged breaches of securities regulations.
During Joe Biden’s presidency, the SEC initiated over 100 enforcement actions against crypto entities, generally alleging that these entities failed to adequately register products that former SEC Chair Gary Gensler claimed were under the regulators’ jurisdiction.
Trump has adopted a more favorable approach towards the emerging industry, vowing to transform the U.S. into the “world’s crypto capital” and appointing leaders sympathetic to the sector in key regulatory roles.
“This new chapter began with changes in Congress and the executive branch […] when Trump nominated Paul Atkins, Scott Bessent, and added David Sacks,” Garlinghouse mentioned.
Trump appointed Atkins and Bessent to lead the SEC and Treasury Department, respectively. Sacks has been designated as Trump’s advisor on artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, a newly established role within the White House.
“I sincerely believed that we would find ourselves on the right side of the law and history,” Garlinghouse expressed regarding his company’s drawn-out legal struggle with U.S. regulators, adding that, in his perspective, the SEC was merely attempting to intimidate the crypto sector.
With regulatory obstacles now easing, Ripple is turning its attention toward growth, Garlinghouse noted.
“Ripple has invested upwards of $2 billion in investments and acquisitions throughout the cryptocurrency ecosystem, with some of those unrelated to XRP because I truly believe that if the crypto market thrives, Ripple will also thrive,” he commented.
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