The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has dropped all charges against Ripple Labs Chief Executive Officer Brad Garlinghouse and Executive Chairman Chris Larsen, according to an Oct. 19 court filing.
See related article: XRP triumphs over SEC, but crypto clarity remains in the shadows
Fast Facts:
- The SEC will no longer pursue claims that Ripple’s Garlinghouse and Larsen aided the company in violating securities laws related to its XRP transactions.
- According to Thursday’s filing, the parties agreed to voluntarily dismiss the aiding and abetting charges with prejudice, meaning that the charges can’t be filed again.
- The filing added that the SEC will continue pursuing its claims against Ripple.
- In July, Judge Torres ruled Ripple Labs’ programmatic sales of the XRP token to retail investors did not qualify as financial securities. The judge granted the SEC to file an interlocutory appeal until Aug. 18. Interlocutory appeals occur before all claims to both parties are resolved and are only allowed under specific circumstances.
- Earlier this month, Judge Analisa Tores rejected the agency’s interlocutory motion to overturn her ruling.
- In December 2020, the SEC sued the San Francisco-based technology firm and its executives alleging that Ripple’s sale of XRP was an unregistered securities offering.
- The XRP token rose 6.49% in the 24 hours leading up to 4:50 p.m. in Hong Kong, to trade at US$0.512, according to CoinMarketCap.
See related article: Valkyrie CIO expects US spot Bitcoin ETF approval in Q2 2024
