On Wednesday, March 19, 2025, Ripple announced that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had officially abandoned its four-year lawsuit against the company, ending a saga that began on Jay Clayton’s last day as chair in December 2020. The $1.3 billion case—alleging Ripple sold XRP as an unregistered security—collapsed after a July 2023 ruling that XRP isn’t inherently a security. With XRP jumping 11% to $2.53 (per CoinMarketCap) and the SEC retreating from suits against Coinbase, Kraken, and others, crypto’s “war” with regulators seems over. Here’s how Ripple’s triumph, Trump’s pro-crypto push, and a revamped SEC reshaped the landscape.
Ripple’s $150M Fight Pays Off
The SEC’s case, launched under Gary Gensler’s enforcement-heavy tenure, cost Ripple $150 million in legal fees. It accused the company of raising $1.3 billion via XRP sales since 2012 when founders Chris Larsen and Jed McCaleb created the token as Ripple’s native currency. A federal judge’s 2023 ruling gutted the SEC’s argument, and after losing its appeal window this week, the agency dropped all charges—including personal suits against CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Larsen.
“Ripple fought back—and won on essential legal questions,” Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty told CNBC, calling it the “last case” the SEC would walk away from. The victory sparked XRP’s rally, with X posts like @XRPcryptowolf’s “XRP to the moon” reflecting euphoria. Ripple, now valued at $15 billion (2024 secondary sales), stands as a crypto defiance poster child.
Trump’s Crypto Pivot and Industry Backing
Ripple’s win didn’t happen in a vacuum. Crypto firms—Ripple, Coinbase, Kraken—poured $119 million into Trump’s 2024 campaign via Fairshake PAC, per OpenSecrets, flipping the former skeptic into a champion. At July 2024’s Bitcoin Conference, Trump vowed to make the U.S. “the crypto capital of the planet,” a promise cemented by his March 7 White House Crypto Summit with “crypto czar” David Sacks. Sacks, fresh from January’s Crypto Ball, declared at the summit: “The war on crypto is over.”
Trump’s SEC appointees delivered. On Friday, March 21, Hester Peirce’s Crypto Task Force hosted its first roundtable, shifting from Gensler’s “regulation by enforcement” to dialogue. January’s repeal of SAB 121—a 2022 rule forcing banks to treat crypto as liabilities—unlocked institutional adoption. “Bye, bye SAB 121!” Peirce posted on X, earning cheers from @CryptoLawUS: “A new day for crypto.”
A Crypto Clean Sweep
Ripple’s closure caps a string of SEC retreats: Coinbase’s February 2025 dismissal, Kraken’s settled suit, Robinhood’s Wells Notice pulled, Binance’s probe paused, and OpenSea’s case on hold. The agency’s old playbook—subpoenas to Ripple’s foreign partners, document hauls, personal lawsuits—crumbled. “The SEC wasn’t upholding the law; it was using it as a blunt instrument,” Alderoty said, vowing to keep pushing for “clear, fair” rules.
Wall Street’s warming up. At Davos in January, Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon and Morgan Stanley’s James Gorman hinted at crypto re-engagement, per Bloomberg. Bitcoin’s $108,000 peak (March 20, Coindesk) and XRP’s surge signal market faith—bolstered by Trump’s executive order on digital assets, signed beside Sacks.
What’s Next for Crypto in 2025?
The SEC’s pivot—echoed by Peirce’s “we’re not adversaries” stance—could unleash a crypto boom. Task force roundtables (next in June) aim to define assets like XRP (commodity or security?), building on Ether ETF staking hopes (per prior Mitchnick post). Ripple’s eyeing global expansion, with $2 billion in XRP treasury sales planned, per Garlinghouse’s X hint. But risks linger: tariff uncertainty (sentiment at 57.9, U. Michigan) and Gensler-era holdovers could slow progress.
X’s @RippleXrpie predicts “$5 XRP by Q3” if clarity holds, while @CoinDesk sees “institutional floodgates opening.” Ripple’s $150 million fight flipped the script—now, it’s leading the charge for a crypto-friendly U.S. Watch Q2 for Trump’s next moves and Peirce’s rulebook. The crusade’s dead; the renaissance begins.
