Insiders: SEC Still Bent on Fighting Ripple, XRP Despite Waiving Trial

• The U.S. SEC remains committed to contesting XRP’s regulatory status.
• Insiders in the SEC confirmed the development amid the regulator’s dismissal of charges against Ripple executives.
• The charge dismissal implies the scheduled April 2024 trial has become redundant.

Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett has disclosed that while the U.S. regulator has dismissed charges against Ripple executives, they are still pursuing other aspects of the case. 

In a recent tweet, Terrett revealed that the U.S. SEC has no intentions of abandoning various aspects of the case between it and Ripple Labs, particularly its classification of all XRP offers and sales as securities. Terrett cited insiders within the SEC as the source of the information .

“Seems Gary Gensler [SEC chairman] isn’t going down without a fight,” the Fox Business journalist remarked.

On Friday, the SEC withdrew charges against Ripple’s CEO Bradley Garlinghouse and Chairman Chris Larsen. The charge dismissal implies the scheduled April 2024 trial against the Ripple executives has become redundant. 

This victorious development led some members of the XRP community to theorize that the protracted lawsuit may be nearing its conclusion. Nonetheless, the SEC appears to be gearing up for more legal battles. 

For context, the U.S. regulator initiated a legal action in December 2020, accusing Larsen and Garlinghouse of conducting an unregistered securities offering involving XRP. The regulatory authority claimed that the two Ripple executives had aided the company in violating federal securities regulations through their involvement in XRP transactions.

However, on July 13, 2023, U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres ruled that Ripple’s sales of XRP to retail and other distributions were not considered an investment contract. Yet, the court determined that Ripple had violated securities law only when selling XRP to institutional investors.

Displeased with the verdict, the SEC requested permission to file an interlocutory appeal to contest the court’s winning decision to XRP. Unfortunately, the U.S. court rejected the request, instructing the SEC to await the resolution of all pending charges. 

Following the SEC’s decision to dismiss charges against Ripple executives, the remaining matter awaiting resolution in the case is the remedies stage, which must be addressed before the court can render its ultimate judgment.