Cardano Founder Charles Hoskinson Celebrates the End of the SEC’s Pursuit of Enforcement Against Ripple

Under President Donald Trump’s administration, the U.S. crypto industry has seen significant regulatory changes, reflecting rapid wins.

Recently, the prolonged legal battle between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple seems to have concluded, at least from the regulator’s enforcement perspective. This news has evoked celebrations among supporters like Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson.

A Great Victory for Crypto

On Wednesday, March 19, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced that the SEC case against Ripple is over, as the SEC has chosen to drop its appeal.

In response, Hoskinson congratulated the XRP community, calling this development “a great victory for crypto.”

> A great victory for Crypto and congratulations to XRP Nation. It’s time to build again https://t.co/EjBxBatFKF
> — Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) March 19, 2025

Many view the end of the Ripple case as a turning point against the SEC’s so-called war on crypto. The case, filed in December 2020, was the SEC’s first high-profile action against the industry and now appears to be one of the last as the regulatory stance evolves.

In recent weeks, the SEC has revisited its position on over ten major crypto enforcement cases, including those involving Coinbase, Consensys, Kraken, OpenSea, and Uniswap.

Loose Ends

Although the SEC is expected to abandon its appeal against Ripple, it’s unclear if Ripple will proceed with its own cross-appeal. CEO Garlinghouse indicated the company seeks to challenge certain aspects of the prior ruling.

While the court determined that Ripple’s secondary market XRP sales do not constitute security offerings, it did find fault in its sales to institutional investors. Consequently, Ripple was ordered in August 2024 to pay a $125 million fine and was granted an injunction against direct XRP sales to institutions without SEC exemptions.

According to Garlinghouse, this situation needs “clean up.”