The long-running legal dispute between Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is nearing an end. This Friday, the company's CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, announced that they have decided to withdraw their appeal in the case, while the SEC also plans to withdraw its own, bringing this lengthy judicial chapter to a close.

The announcement came one day after Judge Analisa Torres of the Southern District of New York rejected the latest settlement proposal filed jointly by both parties. The appeal sought to reduce the civil fine imposed on Ripple from $125 million to $50 million.

Torres considered that the arguments presented in the joint request were not sufficiently strong to overturn the court ruling. The judge had already rejected another request in May, citing jurisdictional and procedural issues. Faced with these rejections and no signs of flexibility from the court, Ripple's decision to withdraw its appeal implies accepting the original $125 million fine.

In making the announcement, Garlinghouse wrote in a post: “Ripple is withdrawing our cross-appeal, and the SEC plans to do the same, as previously announced. We're finally closing this phase and will focus on what matters most: building the Internet of Value. We're ready!”

The legal dispute against Ripple began in 2020, when the SEC, under Chairman Jay Clayton, accused the company of violating federal securities laws by selling its XRP cryptocurrency.

In 2023, Judge Torres ruled that sales of XRP to retail investors on public markets did not constitute securities transactions. However, she concluded that sales to institutional investors did violate applicable laws, marking a key turning point in the case.

With the final withdrawal of the appeals, this controversy, which has kept the XRP community on tenterhooks for years, is expected to come to a formal conclusion.