Ripple's Lingering Case: A Crypto Enigma Amidst SEC's Dismissals

The Ripple case, one of the oldest and most influential in the cryptocurrency industry, has remained unresolved despite the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dismissing several high-profile enforcement actions in recent weeks. This anomaly has raised questions about why the Ripple case continues to linger while others have been resolved.

The origins of the Ripple case date back to the early 2010s when the SEC was just beginning to dip its toes into cryptocurrency enforcement. The case, which alleges that Ripple's sales of the token XRP were a "years-long unregistered offering of securities," has been a significant influence on subsequent SEC enforcement actions. The case preceded former President Joe Biden and SEC Chair Gary Gensler, coming in the last months of the first Trump administration when Jay Clayton was still SEC chair.

As the first major crypto case, rulings in Ripple would be highly influential in the legal posture of the industry. In 2023, Judge Analisa Torres granted the company a partial victory, holding that blind bid-ask sales of XRP did not constitute securities because buyers were not aware they were buying XRP from Ripple. However, the SEC tried to certify an interlocutory appeal and failed, and over the ensuing year, the case slowly wound down, culminating in a $125 million judgment against Ripple in August of last year.

As of writing time, the Ripple case has been silent since Jan. 31, 2025. The SEC has methodically dismissed virtually every cryptocurrency action and investigation on its docket, yet Ripple has remained mysteriously stuck. This is strange on several levels. For one, the arguments for appeal on Ripple are similar to those at issue in a parallel Coinbase interlocutory appeal that Southern District of New York Judge Katherine Polk Failla certified back in January. The SEC let that one go, dismissing the case on Feb. 27, 2025.

Secondly, Ripple seems to be in the White House's good graces. Ripple has publicly courted Trump's favor in recent months, including a meeting between Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Trump in Mar-a-Lago before his inauguration and a reported contribution of $5 million in XRP to Trump's inauguration fund. While it is impossible to know for sure, it does seem that these gestures have inspired