The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and enterprise blockchain company Ripple have finally reached a long-awaited resolution in their legal battle, a four-year saga that began in December 2020. Initiated under former Chair Jay Clayton during his last days in office, the lawsuit accused Ripple, CEO Brad Garlinghouse, and chairman Chris Larsen of selling unregistered securities. Despite initial hopes among some community members that crypto-savvy Chair Gary Gensler would bring a different approach, his agency continued to pursue regulation through enforcement.

After countless twists and turns, Ripple emerged victorious in July 2023, when District Judge Analisa Torres determined that secondary XRP sales were not securities. However, in August 2024, Judge Torres issued a final judgment imposing a $125 million fine on Ripple and a permanent injunction preventing Ripple from selling XRP tokens to institutions in the U.S. What seemed like the saga's end was prolonged when Gensler's SEC filed an appeal in October, promptly followed by Ripple's cross-appeal.

The grueling legal battle officially concluded earlier this August, following Gensler's departure in January. Ripple and the SEC reached a settlement agreement aimed at reducing the penalty and removing the injunction, though Judge Torres refused to modify the final ruling. Consequently, Ripple withdrew its cross-appeal, and the SEC reciprocated. Commenting on the resolution, U.S. SEC Chair Paul Atkins stated, "With this chapter closed, we now have an opportunity to shift our energy from the courtroom to the policy drafting table." Similarly, Commissioner Hester Peirce remarked that the agency, "once occupied with litigation now can concentrate on creating a clear regulatory framework for crypto."

In reaction to the post-lawsuit statements from SEC officials, David Schwartz, chief technology officer at Ripple, shared a quote from a British comedy sketch, posting a GIF from "Salad Days," a sketch from "Monty Python's Flying Circus," on social media, proclaiming, "What a simply super day." Stuart Alderoty, chief legal officer at Ripple, also expressed gratitude to Chair Atkins for "moving America towards clear rules of the road." Despite these optimistic comments from SEC officials and Ripple executives, the XRP price experienced a "not-so-super day," plunging by 4% and underperforming other major altcoins. An X user questioned this outcome, noting it seemed "bizarre and the opposite of logic." While the XRP price had surged sharply higher after the initial resolution last week, this news-driven pump proved short-lived, with XRP currently trading at $3.15, according to CoinGecko data.