Ripple to Retain $75 Million From SEC As the XRP Lawsuit Enters Final Stage

Ripple has officially settled its legal battle with the SEC, with the agency returning $75 million of a previous fine.

Ripple now has the ability to sell XRP tokens to institutional investors, potentially boosting liquidity and partnerships.

“Last week, the SEC agreed to drop its appeal without conditions. Ripple has now agreed to drop its cross-appeal. The SEC will keep $50 million of the $125 million fine (already in an interest-bearing escrow in cash), with the balance returned to Ripple. The agency will also ask the Court to lift the standard injunction that was imposed earlier at the SEC’s request,” he said.

Specifically, this cross-appeal contains two crucial components. First, it involves the $125 million fine. The initial community expectation was that the Commission would forfeit the entirety of this fine. However, it seems that both parties have reached an agreement on this matter.

Another critical ruling in the 2024 decision was that Ripple could not sell XRP to institutional investors. The firm had reportedly been negotiating with the SEC to drop this mandate for weeks.

According to reports, this ruling is also being overturned as part of the agreement. In the long run, the lifted restrictions may have a much larger impact. Now that the SEC will let Ripple sell XRP to institutional investors, it could bring significant liquidity, partnership opportunities, and more.

In particular, this decision may also impact XRP’s status as a security or commodity. The SEC was already considering Ripple’s arguments to declare XRP a commodity, and this move may add further weight to the argument. This would also likely improve XRP ETF approval odds.