The Ripple vs. SEC lawsuit was one of the most consequential legal battles in cryptocurrency history. In December 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against Ripple Labs, alleging it raised $1.3 billion through unregistered securities sales of XRP. The lawsuit immediately caused major exchanges to delist XRP, sending its price crashing by over 60% in days.

The Partial Victory and Settlement

A pivotal court ruling in March 2023 declared that XRP is not a security when sold on public exchanges, though it could be considered one in certain institutional sales. This partial victory triggered a 75% price rally and caused most exchanges to relist XRP. The case continued until August 2025, when the SEC and Ripple reached a final agreement to drop all remaining appeals, bringing the legal battle to a definitive close.

Following the August 2025 settlement announcement, XRP surged over 23% within days, climbing to $3.38 — as clearly visible on the Ripple price graph for that period.

RipplePriceGraph.com

Impact on XRP Price and Adoption

The legal resolution unlocked several downstream effects: spot XRP ETF applications were fast-tracked by the SEC under the new crypto-friendly administration, major US banks resumed XRP partnerships, and Ripple signed more US deals in the final six weeks of 2024 than in the preceding six months. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse cited the Trump administration's appointment of Paul Atkins as SEC chair as a major turning point. These regulatory developments are permanently etched into the Ripple price graph as inflection points that fundamentally changed XRP's trajectory.