The Securities and Exchange Commission has concluded its lengthy case and appeal against a cryptocurrency firm reportedly linked to the White House, according to the firm’s CEO. Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple Labs, announced on social media that the investigation into his company has come to an end. Describing it as a victory and a belated surrender by the SEC, Garlinghouse expressed his satisfaction with the outcome. The SEC declined to comment when approached by ABC News. This decision, not officially confirmed by the SEC, spares Ripple from a potential $125 million penalty. The development comes shortly after Garlinghouse’s attendance at a cryptocurrency summit hosted by former President Donald Trump, and Ripple’s $5 million donation to Trump’s inaugural committee. The SEC’s legal action against Ripple and its executives began over four years ago, with allegations of securities law violations related to the fundraising through XRP crypto tokens. A federal judge ruled in Ripple’s favor in 2023, determining that the publicly sold tokens did not qualify as securities. However, the judge still imposed a $125 million fine on the company for not limiting the token sale to institutional investors. Ripple’s appeal against the fine was pending until Wednesday. Following Garlinghouse’s announcement of the dropped appeal, the value of XRP surged over 10% on that day. Garlinghouse referred to the case as “lawfare” in his video statement on social media and commended the shift in government leadership. He expressed optimism about the new administration’s approach to cryptocurrency, urging stakeholders to capitalize on the opportunity.
