SEC v. Ripple Labs, Inc.; Bradley Garlinghouse; and Christian A. Larsen, No. LR-26306, Southern District of New York (May 8, 2025) — Press Release
raw: Ripple Labs, Inc., Bradley Garlinghouse, and Christian Larsen
Ripple Labs, Inc., Bradley Garlinghouse, and Christian Larsen, No. 1:20-cv-10832 (S.D.N.Y. May 8, 2025)
Ripple Labs and executives Bradley Garlinghouse and Christian Larsen settled their SEC civil enforcement action by agreeing to a $50 million penalty distribution from a $125 million escrow.
The SEC reached a settlement with Ripple Labs, Inc. and executives Bradley Garlinghouse and Christian A. Larsen to resolve civil enforcement actions. The agreement involves the distribution of a $125,035,150 civil penalty, with $50 million going to the Commission and the rest to Ripple. The parties seek to dissolve existing injunctions and dismiss pending appeals in the Second Circuit following a district court ruling.
The SEC has entered into a settlement agreement with Ripple Labs, Inc. and executives Bradley Garlinghouse and Christian A. Larsen to resolve a civil enforcement action initiated in 2020. The settlement framework addresses the $125,035,150 civil penalty imposed by a previous final judgment, proposing that $50 million be paid to the SEC and the remainder returned to Ripple. To finalize this, the parties will jointly request an indicative ruling from the district court to dissolve the existing injunction and release the escrowed funds. Once the court provides an indication, the parties will seek a limited remand and move to dismiss their respective pending appeals in the Second Circuit. This resolution is intended to facilitate the SEC’s broader regulatory reform efforts in the crypto industry rather than serving as a definitive assessment of the case's merits. The settlement marks a significant step in resolving the long-standing litigation regarding the sale of unregistered securities.
Extracted insights
- $125.04M $125,035,150 $100M–$1B
- $50.00M $50 million $10M–$100M
- person bradley garlinghouse
- person Christian a. Larsen
- company ripple labs, inc.
- organization Ripple Labs, Inc.
- agency Securities and Exchange Commission
- organization United States Court Of Appeals For The Second Circuit
- Securities And Exchange Commission filed settlement agreement with Ripple Labs, Inc., Bradley Garlinghouse, and Christian a. Larsen
- Securities And Exchange Commission would jointly request district court to dissolve injunction and release escrow account holding $125,035,150 civil penalty
- Ripple Labs, Inc. would pay $50 million to Securities And Exchange Commission in full satisfaction of civil penalty
- Securities And Exchange Commission would seek limited remand to district court for dissolution of injunction and release of escrowed penalty amounts
- Securities And Exchange Commission and Ripple Labs, Inc. would move to dismiss their respective appeals pending in United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- Securities And Exchange Commission filed settlement agreement with district court as part of joint request for indicative ruling
- Securities And Exchange Commission seeks resolution to facilitate reform and renewal of regulatory approach to crypto industry
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26306 / May 8, 2025 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Ripple Labs, Inc., Bradley Garlinghouse, and Christian A. Larsen, Case No. 1:20-cv-10832 (S.D.N.Y. filed Dec. 22, 2020) SEC Announces Settlement Agreement to Resolve Civil Enforcement Action Against Ripple and Two of Its Executives The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed a settlement agreement entered into with defendants Ripple Labs, Inc., Bradley Garlinghouse, and Christian A. Larsen that lays out a framework for resolving the Commission’s civil enforcement action against them. The settlement agreement provides, among other things, that the Commission and Ripple would jointly request the district court to issue an indicative ruling as to whether it would dissolve the injunction against Ripple in the district court’s August 7, 2024 final judgment and order the escrow account holding the $125,035,150 civil penalty imposed by the final judgment be released, with $50 million paid to the Commission in full satisfaction of that penalty and the remainder paid to Ripple. The Settlement Agreement further provides that, following an indication from the district court that it would dissolve the injunction and release the escrowed penalty amounts as requested, the Commission and Ripple will seek a limited remand to the district court for that relief, after which they would move to dismiss their respective appeals from the final judgment, which are currently pending in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The Commission and the defendants filed the settlement agreement with the district court as part of their joint request for an indictive ruling. The Commission’s decision to exercise its discretion and seek a resolution of this pending enforcement action rests on its judgment that such resolution will facilitate the Commission’s ongoing efforts to reform and renew its regulatory approach to the crypto industry, not on any assessment of the merits of the claims alleged in the action. Furthermore, the Commission’s decision to resolve this enforcement action does not necessarily reflect the Commission’s position on any other case.
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26306 / May 8, 2025 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Ripple Labs, Inc., Bradley Garlinghouse, and Christian A. Larsen, Case No. 1:20-cv-10832 (S.D.N.Y. filed Dec. 22, 2020) SEC Announces Settlement Agreement to Resolve Civil Enforcement Action Against Ripple and Two of Its Executives The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed a settlement agreement entered into with defendants Ripple Labs, Inc., Bradley Garlinghouse, and Christian A. Larsen that lays out a framework for resolving the Commission’s civil enforcement action against them. The settlement agreement provides, among other things, that the Commission and Ripple would jointly request the district court to issue an indicative ruling as to whether it would dissolve the injunction against Ripple in the district court’s August 7, 2024 final judgment and order the escrow account holding the $125,035,150 civil penalty imposed by the final judgment be released, with $50 million paid to the Commission in full satisfaction of that penalty and the remainder paid to Ripple. The Settlement Agreement further provides that, following an indication from the district court that it would dissolve the injunction and release the escrowed penalty amounts as requested, the Commission and Ripple will seek a limited remand to the district court for that relief, after which they would move to dismiss their respective appeals from the final judgment, which are currently pending in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The Commission and the defendants filed the settlement agreement with the district court as part of their joint request for an indictive ruling. The Commission’s decision to exercise its discretion and seek a resolution of this pending enforcement action rests on its judgment that such resolution will facilitate the Commission’s ongoing efforts to reform and renew its regulatory approach to the crypto industry, not on any assessment of the merits of the claims alleged in the action. Furthermore, the Commission’s decision to resolve this enforcement action does not necessarily reflect the Commission’s position on any other case.