XRP soars upon announcement that SEC will drop its appeal against Ripple

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced on Wednesday that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has dropped its appeal against the company.

XRP is up 12% in the past 24 hours as market participants have reacted positively to the announcement.

This marks the conclusion of over a four-year battle that dates back to December 2020 when the SEC sued Ripple for allegedly selling XRP as an unregistered security and raising $1.3 billion.

"Today, this journey finally concludes. Today is a victory, and a long overdue surrender by the SEC," noted Garlinghouse.

With the SEC's case against Ripple now over, most crypto community members anticipate that the agency could approve XRP ETF filings from prospective issuers, including Canary Capital, CoinShares, Franklin Templeton, WisdomTree, 21Shares and Bitwise.

SEC vs Ripple case background

In July 2023, Judge Analisa Torres ruled at the district court that sales of XRP to retailers do not constitute security but penalized the company for XRP sales to institutions.

In August 2024, Judge Torres slapped Ripple with a $125 million fine — far below the SEC's push for $1.9 billion — and imposed an injunction that prevented it from selling XRP to institutions without registering the sales as securities.

The SEC appealed the ruling in January 2025, arguing that XRP sales to retail investors constituted securities, among other issues.

Ripple filed a request on January 24 to submit a cross-appeal brief against the SEC.

The latest development follows the SEC closing several cases its previous administration pursued against crypto companies, including Coinbase, Uniswap, OpenSea and Robinhood.

According to reports last week, the delay in the new administration reaching a similar conclusion with Ripple stems from the company's lawyers seeking more favorable terms than they got in Judge Torres' ruling last August.

"With the SEC dropping its appeal, Ripple is now in the driver's seat, and we'll evaluate how best to pursue our cross-appeal. Regardless, today is a day to celebrate this victory," stated Stuart Alderoty, Ripple's Chief Legal Officer.

Ripple could still decide to pursue its cross-appeal now as a ‘plaintiff’, rather than its former position as a ‘defendant,’ considering the regulatory changes surrounding crypto assets since Judge Torres’ ruling.

XRP rallies by 12%, eyes $2.72 resistance

XRP saw $25.48 million in futures liquidations in the past 24 hours, per Coinglass data. The total amount of long and short liquidations accounted for $8.91 million and $16.57 million, respectively.

XRP bounced off the upper boundary of a descending channel, rising by 12% in the past 24 hours. The remittance-based token could stage a move above the $2.72 resistance if it holds the channel's upper boundary as support. A reclaim of $2.72 could see XRP tackle its seven-year high of $3.40.

XRP/USDT daily chart

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) histograms are above their neutral levels, indicating dominant bullish momentum.

A daily candlestick close below the support near the $2.00 psychological level will invalidate the thesis and send XRP toward $1.35.