Ripple and SEC file joint request to suspend appeals to pursue 'negotiated resolution'

Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have jointly filed a motion to put their appeals and cross-appeals in a 60-day abeyance, stepping closer to an official settlement. 

"An abeyance would conserve judicial and party resources while the parties continue to pursue a negotiated resolution of this matter," the Thursday filing said.

The legal document noted that Ripple and the SEC have reached an agreement-in-principle, pending SEC's approval, to resolve the legal dispute, including SEC's appeal and Ripple's cross-appeal.

SEC v. Ripple, one of the most prominent litigations in crypto history, started when the regulatory agency sued Ripple in late 2020 for its sale of XRP tokens, which the regulator saw as a violation of federal securities laws.

The case attracted significant attention, with the main debate centered on whether the XRP cryptocurrency should be considered a financial security.

After years of legal delays, the case saw a significant shift following U.S. President Trump's election, which led to a more favorable SEC stance on cryptocurrencies. Since then, the SEC has dropped its lawsuits against multiple crypto companies, including Coinbase and Kraken . 

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said last month that the SEC had pulled its appeal on a previous court ruling that said Ripple's programmatic sales of XRP did not violate securities regulations. Stuart Alderoty, the company's chief legal officer, later said that it opted not to push its cross-appeal on the agency.

"The parties require additional time to obtain Commission approval for this agreement-in-principle, and if approved by the Commission, to seek an indicative ruling from the district court," the latest filing said.

While the question of whether crypto is a security was central to the SEC lawsuit, the agency's renewed leadership is now working to identify cryptocurrencies that are not. The SEC announced last month that memecoins are not securities , though some might be embroiled in fraud, requiring enforcement action.