Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced that the lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against the company will be dropped. Garlinghouse took to social media to express, “This is the moment we’ve been waiting for. The SEC will withdraw the appeal, Ripple, cryptocurrency, and a huge victory in every way. The future is bright. Let’s build.” He highlighted that the lawsuit, which was filed by the SEC against Ripple over four years ago, has finally come to an end, labeling it as “the first major move in the war against crypto.” Garlinghouse stated, “Back then, I believed that not only was Ripple legally correct, but it would also prove that we were on the right side of history.” Garlinghouse pointed out that during Gary Gensler’s tenure as chair of the SEC, using the same arguments against Ripple, the SEC took action against the entire sector, claiming their goal was to scare instead of protecting investors. Mentioning the 15 billion dollar loss of XRP, Garlinghouse accused the SEC of being a “market manipulator.” He stated, “The SEC wasn’t seeking justice. They were trying to win the case at all costs.” In December 2020, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple, the company behind XRP, and its executives, accusing them of conducting an unregistered securities offering by selling XRP released in 2012 worth 1.3 billion dollars. Ripple argued that XRP, developed to facilitate cross-border payments, is not a security. In July 2023, the lawsuit the SEC filed against the cryptocurrency XRP resulted in favor of Ripple. U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres ruled that Ripple did not violate federal securities laws by selling the cryptocurrency XRP on exchanges. Torres later rejected the SEC’s appeal against this decision. The SEC had taken this ruling to appeal last year.