In a historic moment for the crypto industry, Ripple Labs and the SEC have finally settled their years-long legal battle on August 7, 2025. XRP was trading at $3.32, up more than 8.5% in 24 hours. The SEC had sued Ripple in 2020, alleging the sale of unregistered XRP securities. The 2023 judgment found that XRP was not a security when sold to retail customers but was a security when sold to institutional clients. Ripple was fined over $125 million in August 2024. The SEC and Ripple dropped their appeals in March 2025, with Ripple required to pay a $50 million penalty.

Under the Trump administration, the SEC softened its stance on Ripple and the broader crypto industry, dropping similar lawsuits against exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken. The new SEC Chair, Paul Atkins, will enforce Trump’s pro-crypto agenda. Despite progress, the regulatory status of crypto assets remains uncertain, especially during institutional sales and when linked to ETFs. Commissioner Crenshaw has raised concerns about the evolving view of crypto’s regulatory status. The future of crypto regulation in the U.S. is still unclear, with Trump aiming to make the U.S. the crypto capital of the world.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: Ripple’s victory lap may be premature