What to Expect from the SEC’s Ripple Appeal on January 15

The US Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, is set to file its first brief to the Ripple lawsuit by January 15, 2025. The appeal comes in after the court had ruled that XRP is not considered a security in and of itself. 

The SEC is appealing several aspects of the decision, including its determination on how XRP sales carried out by Ripple on crypto exchanges and personal XRP sales by Ripple executives Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen should be classified. Those arguments are almost certainly going to be central to the forthcoming brief .

The SEC, headed by Chairman Gary Gensler, is also going to closely follow the July 13 court ruling in the case related to Ripple’s programmatic XRP sales. The agency continues to insist that such transactions should be treated as unregistered securities offerings under the Securities Act of 1933. 

On January 8, former SEC lawyer Marc Fagel commented on the case, writing that the court sided with the SEC that Ripple raised more than $700 million in an unregistered offering but indicated that with the change in administrations, the appeal may not go forward.

The SEC is likely to ask for a bigger fine than the $125 million that Judge Torres ordered before. The agency says the current fine does not do enough to stop future violations. The SEC’s appeal will go over its earlier points about how effective the fine is. Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer, Stuart Alderoty, said these efforts are “failed” and a waste of taxpayer money.

Lawyers say a settlement may be coming soon, but Ripple has continued to adjust its business in light of Judge Torres’ decision. Ripple just updated its XRP On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) transactions to comply with the order. Lawyers Jeremy Hogan and Marc Fagel say a settlement may be coming soon, with some expecting the case to settle by April or May 2025 .

Meanwhile, the future for Ripple in the U.S. does look brighter, though. Garlinghouse said 75% of the company’s open jobs are now based in the U.S., and the company has also signed more deals there recently. According to Ripple leaders, this will help the company as the legal fight goes on.