Share this article
SEC Files Notice of Appeal in Case Against Ripple
A federal judge ruled last year that the SEC had not made its case that Ripple violated securities law by selling XRP to retail customers through exchanges.
By Nikhilesh De
Updated Oct 3, 2024, 5:22 p.m. Published Oct 2, 2024, 9:25 p.m.
Make us preferred on Google
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced it would appeal a federal judge's ruling in its case against Ripple on Wednesday.
The federal regulator filed a "notice of appeal" to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, just under two months after Judge Analisa Torres imposed her final judgement in the regulator's now four-year-old-case against the crypto company.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
In July 2023, the judge ruled that while Ripple violated federal securities law through its institutional sales of XRP, its programmatic sales to retail exchanges did not violate securities rules. The SEC attempted to file an interlocutory appeal against the motion for summary judgement, but was denied by the judge.
This past August, Judge Torres imposed a $125 million fine against Ripple, well below the nearly $2 billion the SEC requested in disgorgement, prejudgment interest and civil penalties. The judge stayed enforcement of this fine until after the SEC's deadline to file an appeal had elapsed or an appeal had been resolved by the circuit court.
In a statement, an SEC spokesperson said, "We believe that the district court decision in the Ripple matter conflicts with decades of Supreme Court precedent and securities laws and look forward to making our case to the Second Circuit."
After this article's publication, a Ripple spokesperson referred CoinDesk to tweets by CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty.
"[The SEC] lost on everything that matters," Garlinghouse tweeted. "Ripple, the crypto industry and the rule of law have already prevailed ... XRP's status as a non-security is the law of the land today."
Alderoty called the appeal "disappointing, but not surprising."
In an interview in August, Alderoty told CoinDesk he expected the regulator to have a tough time convincing an appeals court to overturn a district court judge's ruling.
"Even if they do appeal, I would just tell everyone 'take a deep breath,'" he said at the time.
While the SEC filed its notice of appeal, it hasn't filed the appeal itself yet (in other legal proceedings like Sam Bankman-Fried's criminal case, the actual appeal has been filed months after the notice of appeal).
Earlier Wednesday, Bitwise filed an application to list and trade shares of an exchange-traded fund that would invest in XRP.
UPDATE (Oct. 2, 2024, 21:35 UTC): Adds additional detail.
UPDATE (Oct. 2, 22:05 UTC): Adds Garlinghouse, Alderoty tweets.
More For You
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
More For You
Senate Agriculture's crypto market structure draft peppered with Democrat pitches
The latest draft of the major crypto legislation has begun to be targeted with amendments as the Senate Agriculture Committee approaches its hearing next week.
What to know:
- Proposed amendments to the Senate Agriculture Committee's crypto market structure bill have been posted, and the Democrats filing the pitches are seeking to push a number of the points they've sought over months of negotiation.
- Democrat amendments include proposals for banning senior government officials from profiting off of crypto interests and a demand for filling the Commodity Futures Trading Commission before new rules can be put in place.
- The committee's markup hearing for the bill is currently scheduled for next week, though a winter storm threatens the U.S. capital.
Top Stories
