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- The SEC’s removal of the Ripple lawsuit from its website sparked speculation, but legal experts clarified that the case has simply moved to the appeals court.
- The SEC filed an appeal on January 15, 2025, aiming to overturn Ripple’s partial victory and redefine XRP’s classification in cryptocurrency regulations.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has quietly removed its civil lawsuit against Ripple from its website, triggering a wave of speculation across the crypto community. The sudden removal made many wonder if the prolonged legal battle had reached a settlement. However, legal experts suggest a different explanation.
Crypto analyst Ash brought attention to the change in a recent post on X, sharing an image that showed a search for Ripple on the SEC’s litigation release page, which returned no results. The section typically lists all civil actions filed by the commission in federal courts. Removing the 2020 lawsuit announcement from that section has fueled hopes that the legal storm around XRP could be cleared.
On December 22, 2020, the SEC sued Ripple in a New York district court, accusing the company of conducting unregistered securities sales through XRP. That legal battle has since shaped much of the regulatory debate surrounding cryptocurrencies in the U.S. But now, the official press release announcing the lawsuit has vanished from the SEC’s litigation database.
Ripple Case Moved, Not Dismissed
Despite the online buzz, the SEC has not dropped the case. The removal simply means the lawsuit has progressed to the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which no longer falls under the SEC’s district court litigation releases. The case remains active, and filings are ongoing.
Legal analyst Jeremy Hogan explained that cases moving to appellate courts often disappear from the SEC’s district-level litigation section. He pointed out that the Ripple lawsuit now appears under the “cases on appeal” category, not indicating any resolution. Other cases, such as the SEC’s enforcement action against Aaron Govil, have undergone similar website updates after reaching appeals. A lawyer commented on X:
The SEC website does not matter. The appeal is still open in the Court’s nationwide PACER system. I am an attorney. I just logged in. The last entry is Ripple’s request for a time extension to file its Brief. The case status is still shown as Active. That may change soon,
SEC Fights to Overturn Ripple’s Partial Victory
The SEC took its next legal step on January 15, 2025, by filing its opening appeal brief. The agency is attempting to reverse a district court decision that granted Ripple a partial win regarding programmatic sales and other distributions of XRP. This ruling had been a significant legal milestone for Ripple, establishing that XRP itself is not a security.
Ripple is now set to respond on April 16, 2025, assuming the extension it requested on January 23, 2025, is approved. If granted, the company will use that filing to counter the SEC’s appeal arguments and push for the Second Circuit to uphold the original ruling. Ripple is also looking to overturn the district court’s classification of XRP sales to institutional investors as securities transactions. The company was fined $125 million in 2023 due to that violation.
In a broader regulatory push, the SEC’s appeal also challenges the lower court’s view that XRP sales to retail investors do not qualify as securities. If the Second Circuit sides with the SEC, it could significantly impact how cryptocurrencies are classified and traded in the U.S.
