The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday announced it has filed a settlement agreement over its lawsuit against blockchain firm Ripple and two of its leaders, CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen, marking a major move by the financial regulator since Chair Paul Atkins took the helm from former Acting Chair Mark Uyeda.
Many XRP holders have been waiting for the SEC’s official announcement regarding the lawsuit even as Garlinghouse previously announced that the lawsuit is over.
SEC Acknowledges Ripple Settlement
Ripple, the largest corporate holder of the XRP altcoin, had been in a back-and-forth legal battle with the SEC since the agency sued the company late in 2020.
On Thursday, the SEC said it has filed a settlement agreement in its lawsuit against Ripple, Garlinghouse and Larsen “that lays out a framework for resolving the Commission’s civil enforcement action.”
As previously reported, Ripple will only pay $50 million of the initial $125 million civil penalty.
In its Thursday statement, the Atkins SEC clarified that its decision to settle with Ripple relies solely on the Commission’s “ongoing efforts to reform and renew its regulatory approach to the crypto industry, not on any assessment of the merits of the claims alleged in the action.”
Crypto Users Weigh In on News
While Garlinghouse has said earlier this year that the lawsuit is over, it’s not completely the end of the story for the hard-fought legal battle.
Crypto macro analyst Arlone Abello, who is prominently known as Coach Miranda Miner in the crypto community, explained that even if Ripple and the SEC have agreed to settle, Judge Analisa Torres, who oversees the case, still has to sign off on the agreement.
One XRP holder, agreed to Abello’s comments, but added that while the case “should be good to go,” the politicized manner with which the crypto industry has been entangled with in recent months may still change the regulatory agency’s tone.
For one crypto user, the lawsuit won’t be over until the SEC “posts it like they’ve done [with] all the other cases.”
Several others on X believe it might take several more months before the case finally reaches its end.
$XRP Still Pumps
Despite the case not reaching its total end just yet, XRP surged overnight, trading as high as $2.33 at one point during a crypto market rally over the U.S. securing a trade agreement with the United Kingdom.
The popular digital asset has yet to see a major breakthrough in price action, but it has one of the largest communities and supporters across the broader crypto sphere.
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