«Ripple spent USD 150 million defending the SEC»: Garlinghouse celebrates the end of the case

The CEO of Ripple Labs, Brad Garlinghouse, did not hide his satisfaction by announcing the end of a judicial battle that, for more than four years, kept his company in the eye of the regulatory hurricane in the United States.

In an interview with Bloomberg Television this March 19, Garlinghouse described the outcome of the litigation with the Bag and Securities Commission (SEC) as a milestone that brings «much certainty» Not only to Ripple, «but to the entire cryptocurrency industry.»

The conflict, which began in December 2020 When the SEC sued Ripple and Garlinghouse personally for alleged sales of the XRP cryptocurrency as unregistered securities, it reached a turning point after years of legal confrontations.

As reported by cryptootics earlier, the SEC decided It is not a value when it is sold to the general public through exchanges.

However, Torres also ruled that certain institutional sales from XRP, for a value of USD 728 million, did violated securities laws, which resulted in a USD 125 million fine imposed on Ripple in August 2024.

Garlinghouse revealed in the interview that Ripple Invested more than USD 150 million In defending what he described as an attempt at the SEC, under the leadership of Gary Gensler, of «intimidating the industry.»

«We spend more than 150 million dollars for four years defending that case, not only for Ripple, but for the entire industry,» he said.

For the Executive, this effort was not in vain: the abandonment of the appeal by the SEC marks the end of an era of «regulation for intimidation» and open the door to a clearer and predictable environment for cryptocurrencies in the United States.

A turn in the narrative: defendants to plaintiffs

According to Garlinghouse, the litigation took an unexpected turn for Ripple after the Torres ruling in 2023.

Although the SEC achieved a partial victory by imposing the fine for institutional sales, the fact that XRP was not classified as a value programmatic sales It was a significant blow to the position of the regulator.

«We won in the key parts of the case,» Garlinghouse said.

The SEC tried to appeal this decision eight months ago, but its recent decision to give up He left Ripple in a position of force.

«We went from being demanded to plaintiffs. Now we have control to determine how to proceed,» said the CEO, who stressed that the company is still It has a pending counterclaim before the second Appeals circuit in Manhattan.

This counterpart could be key For Ripple to recover the USD 125 million which paid as a fine, which, according to Garlinghouse, are currently in custody.

«We have to recover it. I think there are some nuances in how this will develop,» he said, suggesting that the company evaluates whether to continue the process or definitively close the chapter.

«Depending on whether or not we decided to continue with our appeal, we could withdraw and everything would be resolved,» he added.

A direct criticism of Gary Gensler

Garlinghouse did not spare criticism of Gary Gensler, who left his position as president of the SEC after the arrival of A more favorable administration to cryptocurrencies In Washington in January this year.

«The SEC of Gensler tried to intimidate and continue with the regulation for the application of the law, through the presentation of demands, and more demands against cryptocurrency companies,» he said.

For the CEO of Ripple, the case against your company was an example of «bureaucratic overreach» aimed at consolidating the regulator’s power over an emerging industry, even when there was no evidence of damage to investors.

«When it comes to a case in which there are no harmed investors, there are no money losses, one wonders: ‘Why are we here?’ That really goes back Gary Gensler fighting a battle for power,» he said.

Cryptootics has documented how, under the mandate of Gensler, The SEC intensified its scrutiny about the cryptocurrency sectorinitiating legal actions against giants such as Coinbase and Kraken.

However, with the departure of Gary Gensler and the nomination of Paul Atkins – a lawyer perceived as more favorable to the industry – by President Donald Trump, the SEC has shown indications of a turn in its regulatory approach.

The abandonment of the appeal against Ripple, together with the end of other high profile cases, such as Uniswap, Coinbase, Robinhood, among others, suggests A less confrontational approach to cryptocurrencies.

Implications for Ripple and Industry

The end of litigation not only releases Ripple from a significant legal burden, but also has deep implications for the cryptocurrency ecosystem in the United States.

Garlinghouse stressed that the resolution of the case It provides regulatory clarityan element that companies in the sector have demanded for years.

«It is excellent for the US cryptocurrency industry and, frankly, excellent for cryptocurrencies in general,» he said.

In this sense, the CEO of Ripple Labs sees a promising future with the arrival of new legislationas bills on Stablcoins and market structures that could establish clear standards for the SEC and the Basic Products Negotiation Commission (CFTC).

A precedent for the future

The case of Ripple against the SEC will remain in history as a turning point for the regulation of cryptocurrencies in the United States. With a cost of USD 150 million and more than four years of battle, Ripple’s victory sends a clear message: The industry is willing to defend itself and demand clarity.

While XRP experiences a 13% increase in its price after the announcement, according to market data, the cryptoactive community celebrates what Garlinghouse described as «a long -awaited end.»

For him, this is not just a personal or corporate triumph, but a step towards a more fair and predictable regulatory environment for all the actors in the sector.