XRP litigation history
1.1 The storm started six years ago
2018: Ripple faces multiple class-action lawsuits, claiming that XRP is a security, including Taylor Copeland, Vladi Zakinov, David O’Connor and Avner Greenwald, arguing that Ripple issued XRP without registration.
1.2 SEC litigation background
December 22, 2020: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Ripple Labs, accusing Ripple and its two executives of raising more than $1.3 billion through unregistered digital asset securities offerings.
1.3 Litigation progress
February 2021: Ripple said that the SEC failed to provide sufficient guidance before the lawsuit, and Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse denied the SEC's allegations and said the company would fight through legal channels.
May 2021: Ripple wins preliminary court case, with Judge Sarah Netburn denying the SEC's motion to obtain Ripple's internal memos.
April 2023: SEC Chairman Gensler says the goal is to bring the crypto space into compliance with securities laws, while Ripple's policy director argues that cryptocurrencies need specific rules. June 13, 2023: Ripple files documents in court, strongly opposing the SEC's request for summary judgment.
July 13, 2023: Judge Analisa Torres rules in summary judgment that XRP is not a security in retail transactions, and Ripple wins a judgment that some XRP are not securities. The judge ruled that Ripple's institutional sales of XRP constitute investment contracts and sales of unregistered securities, but programmatic sales do not constitute investment contracts.
October 20, 2023: The SEC drops all charges against its CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen.
March 2024: SEC demands $2 billion in fine from Ripple, Ripple says it is unreasonable and defends.
May 2024: SEC insists on seeking nearly $2 billion in fine from Ripple in revised relief measures, but Ripple says in "Supplemental Authoritative Notice" that SEC's fine request is unreasonable and defends.
1.4 Recent legal victories and market reactions
Price surge: On August 8, 2024, "US judge ruled that Ripple's sale of XRP to retail investors did not violate federal securities laws", Ripple won the lawsuit against the SEC. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said in a post that the court reduced the SEC's fine request by about 94%.
