Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have jointly filed a motion to suspend their respective appeals in order to finalize a potential settlement.
This request suggests a possible resolution to a prominent legal battle that has captured the attention of the payments sector since December 2020, centered on the sale of XRP tokens, which the SEC claimed were unregistered securities.
The lawsuit has become a key point of contention in discussions regarding the regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies in the United States, with Ripple asserting that XRP is a currency rather than a security, placing it beyond the SEC’s authority.
According to information shared by attorney James Filan, Ripple and the SEC have reached an “agreement in principle” to settle all remaining issues. This includes the SEC’s appeal of the lower court’s final decision, Ripple’s corresponding appeal, and claims against the company’s founders, Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen.
The motion seeks to have the court put the appeals process on hold—essentially pausing it—while the parties negotiate the final details of the settlement, which still needs formal approval from the SEC’s commissioners.
This comes on the heels of a similar request from the SEC and Gemini in early April, where both parties asked the court for a two-month pause to finalize a settlement in their prolonged legal dispute concerning Gemini’s Earn program.