Finally, the news we’ve been waiting for has dropped!
On March 19, 2025, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced that "the SEC is dropping its appeal in the Ripple lawsuit."
This fight’s been dragging on for over four years, and as an XRP holder—no, as a crypto investor—I’ve got some mixed feelings about what this means, so I’m jotting it all down.
A 4-year rollercoaster
Honestly, when the SEC sued Ripple in December 2020, I was holding XRP and totally lost it. Like, what the heck is going on here?
The price tanked over 50%, and big exchanges like Coinbase even halted XRP trading… Back then, I seriously thought, “Is this it? Are we done for?”
But then Ripple dug in and fought back, and when the court ruled in 2023 that “sales to retail investors aren’t securities,” I started feeling a flicker of hope again.
In July 2023, Judge Torres ruled that “sales to retail investors aren’t securities,” handing Ripple its first big win.
Back then, XRP shot up to $0.8, and I was like, “Is this finally over?” But then the SEC doubled down with plans to appeal, and the uncertainty crept back in.
Fast forward to March 2025—right after the Trump administration took over, the SEC’s vibe totally shifted. They finally dropped the appeal.
After Gary Gensler stepped down, the new leadership basically said, “Nah, no need to keep fighting this.
Even so, when the SEC planted that appeal flag, I got nervous all over again. Now that it’s really over, I feel relieved but also kinda like, “What the heck, now you’re done?”
But honestly, there’s a bitter taste too.
Why’d the SEC only give up now? The moment the Trump administration rolled in, Gensler was out, new leadership stepped up, and suddenly it’s, “Oh, we’re cool, we’ll drop it.” What was all that anxiety they put us investors through for then?
Someone on X said, “With all the rug pulls and scam projects out there, was the SEC just picking on Ripple for some ego trip?” And man, that hits home.
Thinking about the XRP holders who took losses over these four years, it feels a bit unfair.
I’m not totally sure if this SEC drama wrapping up is a fresh start for XRP or just a “done-and-dusted” hype moment.
