SEC Drops Ripple Case as XRP ETF Approval Odds Rise
The Securities and Exchange Commission has officially ended its years-long lawsuit against Ripple Labs. The news initially sent the price of XRP soaring by 10%, although it has since cooled, and boosted the prospects for several XRP ETF applications already filed with regulators.
The SEC's retreat opens the door for mainstream institutional access to XRP, potentially transforming a once-embattled cryptocurrency into an approved financial product alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds.
The regulatory battle, which began in December 2020 when the SEC accused Ripple of conducting an unregistered securities offering, concluded when the agency dropped its appeal of a 2023 court ruling that found XRP sales on public exchanges did not constitute securities.
This decision marks another step in the SEC's broader pullback from crypto enforcement under President Donald Trump's administration, which has already seen the agency drop lawsuits against exchanges Coinbase and Kraken since January.
At least seven major investment firms have filed for XRP-focused ETFs in anticipation of regulatory approval:
The applications reflect the growing interest in providing regulated exposure to the cryptocurrency, which received additional support when Trump named XRP as a potential addition to the U.S. government's "Digital Asset Stockpile" initiative.
Prediction markets reflect growing optimism, with Polymarket showing an 82% chance of XRP ETF approval in 2025, up 10% over the past week.
While approval timelines remain uncertain, the SEC's changing posture toward cryptocurrency regulation has dramatically improved the outlook for XRP-based investment products.
