Ripple Labs
Summary
Ripple Labs is a San Francisco-based financial technology company founded in 2012 that developed the XRP Ledger and issues the XRP token for cross-border payments. The company was the subject of a landmark five-year SEC enforcement action alleging a $1.3 billion unregistered securities offering, which concluded in August 2025 via joint dismissal of appeals following a 2024 court-imposed $125 million civil penalty. A 2023 federal court split ruling established that institutional XRP sales constituted unregistered securities while secondary market sales did not, making the case the first significant federal court ruling to distinguish token sale contexts under securities law.
Connected Entities
1 entities- + 4 more
Timeline(14 events)
2012-09-01
Ripple Labs (then OpenCoin) founded by Chris Larsen and Jed McCaleb. XRP Ledger developed with 100 billion pre-minted XRP tokens; 80 billion allocated to the company.
Ripple Labs Wikipedia2015-05-05
FinCEN assessed a $700,000 civil money penalty against Ripple Labs for Bank Secrecy Act violations, including operating as an unregistered money services business. DOJ concurrently required a $450,000 forfeiture. First-ever BSA enforcement action against a virtual currency exchanger.
FinCEN Press Release2017-01-01
Brad Garlinghouse officially becomes CEO of Ripple Labs, having joined as COO in April 2015.
Brad Garlinghouse Wikipedia2017-12-01
Ripple places 55 billion XRP into cryptographic escrow with programmed monthly releases of up to 1 billion XRP to address centralization concerns.
Ripple vs SEC Full Case Timeline - Coincub2020-12-22
SEC files civil complaint in SDNY against Ripple Labs, CEO Brad Garlinghouse, and co-founder Chris Larsen, alleging a $1.3 billion unregistered XRP securities offering beginning in 2013. XRP price drops sharply; major U.S. exchanges announce delistings.
SEC Press Release 2020-3382021-01-01
Ripple files answer to SEC complaint, asserting 'fair notice' defense that the SEC never indicated XRP should be treated as a security.
Ripple vs SEC Full Case Timeline - Coincub2023-07-13
Judge Analisa Torres issues landmark split summary judgment: institutional XRP sales (~$728.9M) were unregistered securities offerings; programmatic exchange sales (~$757M) and employee compensation distributions were not. XRP relisted on major exchanges following the ruling.
SDNY Court Order SEC v. Ripple Labs 7-13-232023-10-19
SEC files stipulation dismissing all charges against Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen, removing personal liability and eliminating scheduled jury trial.
SEC Drops Charges Against Ripple Executives - CoinDesk2024-08-07
Judge Torres enters final judgment imposing $125,035,150 civil money penalty on Ripple Labs and a permanent injunction against future unregistered institutional XRP sales. No disgorgement ordered; penalty substantially below the SEC's ~$2 billion demand.
Bloomberg - Ripple Labs Ordered to Pay $125 Million Penalty2025-05-16
Judge Torres rejects Ripple and SEC's proposed $50 million settlement agreement, citing procedural flaws.
Ripple-SEC Bid for XRP Settlement Rejected - CoinDesk2025-06-26
Judge Torres rejects Ripple and SEC's second request for an indicative ruling on the proposed $50 million settlement.
NY Judge Slaps Down SEC, Ripple's Second Request - CoinDesk2025-06-27
Ripple announces it will drop its cross-appeal against the SEC in the Second Circuit.
Ripple to Drop Cross-Appeal Against SEC - CoinDesk2025-08-07
SEC files Joint Stipulation of Dismissal in the Second Circuit, formally dismissing both the SEC's appeal and Ripple's cross-appeal. Judge Torres' 2023 and 2024 rulings are locked in as final. Case closed after nearly five years of litigation.
SEC Litigation Release lr-263692025-08-08
SEC grants Ripple a 'bad actor' waiver, completing regulatory resolution and restoring full market participation capabilities.
Ripple vs SEC Full Case Timeline - CoincubDecision Log
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This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain and source URLs are archived via the Internet Archive.
model: claude-code-investigator
generated: 5/8/2026, 2:31:29 AM
last updated: 5/30/2026, 1:03:56 PM
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