Historic decision for #XRP and Ripple: It's over now

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced that the SEC will withdraw its amendment process regarding the Ripple incident.

This is a summary of a legal case.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will not pursue any further action to amend its complaint in a case alleging that Ripple Labs flouted federal securities law by selling unregistered digital assets, the agency said in a filing on Wednesday.

The SEC can no longer pursue any avenues for appeal in the case, which began in December 2020 and saw the agency sue Ripple and its CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, for allegedly selling unregistered securities to raise $1.3 billion from 2013.

The agency had lostoperability to intervene in a lower court ruling in July that XRP, a cryptocurrency created by Ripple, should not be deemed a security.

The SEC is planning to appeal that ruling. It also applied for an amendment to modify its complaint after a federal judge in August refused to strike portions of Ripple’s answer and affirmative defenses.

In its filing on Wednesday, the SEC said it will not pursue any further action to amend the complaint or otherwise intervene in the case.

The move comes after a federal judge last week flatly rejected the SEC's bid to strike portions of Ripple's answer and affirmative defenses.

The agency had hoped to exclude portions of Ripple's answer, which included statements about the SEC's intent in bringing the case and its actions in a 2012 speech by former SEC Chair Mary Jo White.

The judge also refused to strike portions of Ripple's affirmative defenses, which included claims that the SEC was engaging in "unclean hands" and had violated the Administrative Procedure Act.

The judge's ruling was a setback for the SEC, which is already facing difficulties in its efforts to assert its jurisdiction over cryptocurrencies.

The agency is appealing a lower court ruling that XRP should not be deemed a security. It is also facing a case in which a federal judge ruled that the SEC acted improperly in shutting down a crypto hedge fund.

The judge's decision not to strike portions of Ripple's answer and affirmative defenses could further complicate the agency's legal strategy.

The SEC is expected to present its case against Ripple at trial in early 2024.