An appellate court has granted a joint request from Ripple Labs and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to pause an appeal in a 2020 SEC case against Ripple amid settlement negotiations.

In an April 16 filing in the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the court approved a joint SEC-Ripple motion to hold the appeal in abeyance — temporarily pausing the case — for 60 days. As part of the order, the SEC is expected to file a status report by June 15.

The SEC’s case against Ripple and its executives, filed in December 2020, was expected to begin winding down after Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced on March 19 that the commission would be dropping its appeal against the blockchain firm. A federal court found Ripple liable for $125 million in an August ruling, resulting in both the SEC and blockchain firm filing an appeal and cross-appeal, respectively.

However, once US President Donald Trump took office and leadership of the SEC moved from former chair Gary Gensler to acting chair Mark Uyeda, the commission began dropping multiple enforcement cases against crypto firms in a seeming political shift. Ripple pledged $5 million in XRP to Trump’s inauguration fund, and Garlinghouse and chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty attended events supporting the US president.

Related: SEC dropping Ripple case is ‘final exclamation mark’ that XRP is not a security — John Deaton

Despite support for the end of the case coming from both Ripple and the SEC, the August 2024 judgment and appellate cases leave some legal entanglements. Alderoty said in March that Ripple would drop its cross-appeal with the SEC and receive a roughly $75 million refund from the lower court judgment. It’s unclear what else may result from negotiations over a settlement in appellate court.

New leadership at SEC incoming

Acting chair Uyeda is expected to step down following the US Senate confirming Paul Atkins as SEC chair on April 9.

During his confirmation hearings, lawmakers questioned Atkins about his ties to crypto, which could create conflicts of interest in his role regulating the industry. In financial disclosures, Atkins stated he had millions of dollars in assets through stakes in crypto firms, including Securitize, Pontoro and Patomak.

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/court-grants-60-day-pause-of-sec-ripple-appeals-case/feed/ 0 31156 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/ripple-and-sec-request-60-day-pause-on-appeals-hinting-at-possible-settlement/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/ripple-and-sec-request-60-day-pause-on-appeals-hinting-at-possible-settlement/#respond Wed, 16 Apr 2025 17:28:59 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/ripple-and-sec-request-60-day-pause-on-appeals-hinting-at-possible-settlement/ Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have jointly filed a motion to pause their appeals in the long-running legal battle over XRP, a move widely interpreted as a step toward reaching a final settlement.

In an April 10 court filing, both parties requested that the case be held in abeyance for 60 days, citing ongoing settlement discussions.

“An abeyance would conserve judicial and party resources while the parties continue to pursue a negotiated resolution of this matter,” the filing stated.

Ripple CEO’s March Remarks Foreshadow Pause in SEC Case Proceedings

The pause in proceedings follows Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse’s recent remarks in March, suggesting the case was nearing its end.

The timing of the filing has fueled speculation that the SEC may be waiting for its incoming chair, Paul Atkins, to officially assume office before finalizing a settlement.

Ripple defense attorney James Filan confirmed that the abeyance request overrides the previous April 16 deadline for Ripple to respond to a brief the SEC filed in January.

“The settlement is awaiting commission approval. No brief will be filed on April 16,” Filan stated on X.

The SEC’s willingness to pause appeals has been interpreted by some legal commentators as a signal that the agency may be preparing to drop the case under new leadership.

One community member noted that a settlement led by Atkins would mark a “huge win” and potentially reset the SEC’s approach to crypto regulation.

Atkins was confirmed by the Senate as SEC Chair on April 9, but it remains uncertain when he will be officially sworn in.

For context, former SEC Chair Gary Gensler assumed office three days after his confirmation in 2021, suggesting Atkins could take over as soon as April 12.

The XRP case, which began in December 2020, has been one of the most closely watched legal battles in the crypto industry.

Trump-Era Shift Signals SEC Reassessment of Crypto Regulation

The SEC’s recent shift in tone under President Donald Trump reflects a broader effort to reevaluate the agency’s approach to digital assets.

SEC’s Mark Uyeda announced on April 5 that, in line with Trump’s deregulation agenda and guidance from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Elon Musk, the SEC is reviewing seven staff-issued statements—five of which concern cryptocurrencies.

Among those under review is a 2019 framework from the SEC’s FinHub that assessed when digital asset sales could qualify as investment contracts under the Howey test.

Other documents being reconsidered include statements from the Divisions of Investment Management, Corporation Finance, and Examinations, particularly those addressing risks tied to Bitcoin futures, crypto custody, and industry-wide bankruptcies during 2022.

As reported, the SEC announced new guidelines on April 4, stating that certain fiat-backed stablecoins will be classified as “non-securities,” thereby exempting them from transaction reporting requirements.

The post Ripple and SEC Request 60-Day Pause on Appeals, Hinting at Possible Settlement appeared first on Cryptonews.

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The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Gemini have requested a pause on the watchdog’s lawsuit against the crypto exchange over its Earn program. This move follows the regulator’s efforts to resolve most major crypto litigations outside of the Court.

SEC And Gemini Ask For Pause

On April 1, the US SEC and crypto exchange Gemini sent a letter to New York federal court judge Edgardo Ramos asking for a pause on the regulator’s lawsuit to “allow the parties to explore a potential resolution.”

In the joint motion to stay, the Commission and Gemini lawyers requested a 60-day stay of all the deadlines in the case to discuss the potential resolution, adding that it is in the Court’s best interest as it “would conserve judicial resources.”

SEC and Gemini request a 60-day stay. Source: Court Listener

The SEC sued Gemini in January 2023, arguing that the exchange and the crypto lending firm Genesis Global Capital had illegally offered unregistered securities through the crypto exchange’s Earn Program.

In February 2024, Gemini agreed to pay at least $1.1 billion to the Earn program customers as part of a settlement with the New York State Department Of Financial Services (NYDFS).

“In this case, the parties submit that it is in each of their interests to stay this matter while they consider a potential resolution and agree that no party or non-party would be prejudiced by a stay,” the Tuesday letter argues. The parties also proposed submitting a joint status report within 60 days after entry of the stay.

The End Of The SEC’s Crackdown?

Nearly two months ago, the SEC and Binance also sent a joint motion for a 60-day stay on their crypto litigation, arguing that a stay due to the creation of the SEC’s Crypto Task Force, led by SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce.

The two parties considered that the Task Force could “impact and facilitate the potential resolution of this case.” Journalist Eleanor Terret noted that after the request to pause the Binance case, more joint motions to stay would likely follow under the new crypto-friendly administration.

Since then, the Commission has dropped several crypto cases, including Coinbase, Kraken, and Consensys. Additionally, it had closed multiple open investigations with no enforcement action taken against Robinhood, Uniswap Labs, Crypto.com, and Gemini, among others.

As reported by Bitcoinist, Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss revealed on February 26 that the SEC officially closed its investigation into the company without any enforcement action “699 days after the start of their investigation and 277 days after they sent us a Wells Notice.”

Winklevoss criticized the Commission’s tactics over the previous administration, affirming that, “While this marks another milestone to the end of the war on crypto, (…) it does little to make up for the damage this agency has done to us, our industry, and America.”

He concluded that this is just the beginning “towards ensuring this never happens again to the crypto industry or any other exciting, new frontier industry in the future.”

Total crypto market capitalization is at $2.74 trillion in the one-week chart. Source: TOTAL on TradingView

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The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and global crypto exchange Binance have filed a joint motion to halt the ongoing legal battle for two months, citing the ongoing changes in the regulatory agency.

SEC Vs Binance To Take A Pause

On Tuesday, FOX Business journalist Eleanor Terrett reported that the US SEC and Binance had requested a 60-day pause on the regulator’s case against the global crypto exchange. The joint motion, dated February 10, 2025, argues that the litigation warrants a stay due to the creation of the SEC’s Crypto Task Force, led by SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce.

The two parties consider that the Task Force, created by the Commission’s acting chair, Mark Uyeda, to help develop a regulatory framework for crypto assets, could “impact and facilitate the potential resolution of this case.”

SEC and Binance's joint motion to stay. Source: Court Listener

In June 2023, the SEC filed a lawsuit against the crypto exchange, arguing that Binance, its US affiliate, BAM Trading Services Inc., and the exchange’s former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, offered the sale of unregistered securities and had operated illegally in the US.

The US watchdog argued that the lack of registration enabled Binance to allegedly run an unregulated trading platform that exposed US investors to significant risks and misled customers about the security and regulatory oversight of their assets.

The exchange filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, alleging that the SEC had exceeded its legal authority, but Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled against the motion in July 2024. Nonetheless, the judge granted Binance a partial victory after rejecting some of the Commission’s main claims.

The court ruling dismissed the claims related to the secondary market sales of BNB tokens, the classification of Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin as an investment contract, and “the assertion that crypto tokens themselves are securities.”

Despite this, Judge Jackson allowed the case to proceed with claims about the exchange’s staking program, BNB’s Initial Coin Offering (ICO) sales, and anti-fraud violations of the Securities Act.

More Joint Motions To Come?

According to the Monday court document, the regulatory agency proposed a brief stay with Binance, which the crypto exchange agreed to, considering it “appropriate and in the interest of judicial economy.”

Moreover, the joint motion affirms the stay could “save the parties resources” if an early resolution is reached, removing the need to continue the merits discovery.

Further, this brief stay will promote the efficient use of the Court’s resources, as a resolution would obviate the need for the Court to resolve the Defendants’ pending Motions to Dismiss the Amended Complaint.

Following the 60-day stay, Binance and the SEC plan to submit a joint status report, including whether a continuation of the stay is warranted.

Terret alleges that the joint stay motion is the first requested pause on crypto litigation in the courts since Uyeda became acting chair on January 20. The journalist added that she expects to see other non-fraud causes, such as Ripple, Coinbase, and Kraken, follow suit and request a motion stay.

Binance Coin (BNB) trades at $634.76 in the one-week chart. Source: BNBUSDT on TradingView

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