---
title: "SEC and Ripple Agree to Dismiss Appeals, Finalizing $125M Penalty"
description: "A joint stipulation ends years of litigation, leaving in place a district court judgment and an injunction against Ripple Labs."
url: https://basisdesk.news/news/sec-ripple-dismiss-appeals-125m-judgment
published: 2026-10-02T17:16:57.539Z
modified: 2026-10-02T17:16:57.539Z
section: Regulation & Policy
author: Basis Desk Newsroom (AI-generated, source-verified)
sentiment: neutral
tickers: [XRP, BTC, ETH]
tags: [Ripple, SEC, Enforcement, XRP, Litigation]
license: Quote with attribution to Basis Desk (basisdesk.news). Not financial advice.
---

# SEC and Ripple Agree to Dismiss Appeals, Finalizing $125M Penalty

A joint stipulation ends years of litigation, leaving in place a district court judgment and an injunction against Ripple Labs.

## Key points

- The SEC, Ripple, Bradley Garlinghouse, and Christian Larsen entered a joint stipulation to dismiss pending Second Circuit cross-appeals.
- A district court final judgment requiring Ripple to pay a $125,035,150 civil penalty and imposing a registration injunction remains in effect.
- The resolution ends litigation that originated with the SEC's December 2020 complaint alleging $1.3 billion in unregistered XRP distributions.

## Editorial remark

- **Context:** The SEC initially sued Ripple Labs and its top executives in December 2020, alleging that distributions of XRP totaling $1.3 billion violated federal securities registration provisions.
- **Impact:** Ripple must pay the $125,035,150 civil penalty and adhere to an injunction against registration violations, while eliminating appellate litigation risk for both Ripple and the regulator.
- **Watch:** Market participants will monitor compliance with the district court injunction and the final remittance of the civil penalty.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple Labs have agreed to drop their respective appeals, concluding the federal regulator's multi-year enforcement action against the firm and its leadership [2]. 

According to an SEC litigation release, the agency filed a joint stipulation of dismissal alongside Ripple Labs, Chief Executive Officer Bradley Garlinghouse, and Executive Chairman Christian Larsen [2]. The agreement terminates both the Commission's appeal and Ripple's cross-appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit [2]. Under the terms of the resolution, the final judgment issued by the federal district court remains operative, ordering Ripple to pay a civil penalty of $125,035,150 and maintaining an injunction that bars the company from committing future registration infractions under the Securities Act of 1933 [2].

## The Path From the 2020 Complaint

The dismissal concludes an enforcement action initiated on Dec. 22, 2020, when the Commission filed a complaint in federal court in Manhattan [1]. In that original filing, the agency claimed that Ripple, Larsen, and Garlinghouse secured more than $1.3 billion through an unregistered, continuous offering of digital asset securities using $XRP starting in 2013 [1]. Regulators also alleged that the company transferred billions of tokens for non-monetary services, including market-making, while Larsen and Garlinghouse carried out approximately $600 million in personal sales without satisfying federal registration requirements [1].

The resolution provides definitive closure to one of the crypto sector's most prominent regulatory disputes, as broader markets trade in a calmer posture, with $BTC at $84,902 and $ETH at $2,679 at the time of writing. For ongoing coverage of enforcement outcomes, see how [regulators claw back millions in crypto fraud and theft cases](https://basisdesk.news/analysis/regulators-claw-back-millions-crypto-fraud-theft). With the cross-appeals dismissed, Ripple's $125 million monetary penalty stands as the final financial remedy in the action [2].

## Sources

1. [SEC Charges Ripple and Two Executives with Conducting $1.3 Billion Unregistered Securities Offering](https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2020-338) — sec.gov, 2026-10-02
2. [Ripple Labs, Inc., Bradley Garlinghouse, and Christian A. Larsen](https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases/lr-26369) — sec.gov, 2026-10-02

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Basis Desk Newsroom · AI-generated, source-verified · https://basisdesk.news/about/how-we-use-ai