SEC agrees to settle with Ripple Labs in crypto enforcement action; settlement includes US$50M penalty payment and dissolution of prior injunction from August 2024 judgment

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 26306 / May 8, 2025

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Ripple Labs, Inc., Bradley Garlinghouse, and Christian A. Larsen

SEC Announces Settlement Agreement to Resolve Civil Enforcement Action Against Ripple and Two of Its Executives

The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed a settlement agreement entered into with defendants Ripple Labs, Inc., Bradley Garlinghouse, and Christian A. Larsen that lays out a framework for resolving the Commission’s civil enforcement action against them.

The settlement agreement provides, among other things, that the Commission and Ripple would jointly request the district court to issue an indicative ruling as to whether it would dissolve the injunction against Ripple in the district court’s August 7, 2024 final judgment and order the escrow account holding the $125,035,150 civil penalty imposed by the final judgment be released, with $50 million paid to the Commission in full satisfaction of that penalty and the remainder paid to Ripple. The Settlement Agreement further provides that, following an indication from the district court that it would dissolve the injunction and release the escrowed penalty amounts as requested, the Commission and Ripple will seek a limited remand to the district court for that relief, after which they would move to dismiss their respective appeals from the final judgment, which are currently pending in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The Commission and the defendants filed the settlement agreement with the district court as part of their joint request for an indictive ruling.

The Commission’s decision to exercise its discretion and seek a resolution of this pending enforcement action rests on its judgment that such resolution will facilitate the Commission’s ongoing efforts to reform and renew its regulatory approach to the crypto industry, not on any assessment of the merits of the claims alleged in the action. Furthermore, the Commission’s decision to resolve this enforcement action does not necessarily reflect the Commission’s position on any other case.