Social media speculation suggested Ripple’s civil case was scrubbed from the SEC’s website, but experts stressed that online changes were immaterial in court.
Reports that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission removed Ripple’s civil lawsuit from its official website flooded social media debates, fueling rumors that the regulator may soon end the case completely.
However, crypto.news confirmed that the Ripple case is still accessible on the SEC’s website, though it now appears under different categories.
Social media users noted that while the Ripple case was no longer listed in the “Litigation Releases” section, other cases, such as those involving Coinbase, remained visible there.
Meanwhile, the SEC v Ripple Labs, Inc., Bradley Garlinghouse, and Christain A. Larsen case file could be viewed in the “Award Claim” and “Cases on Appeal” categories of the agency’s website.
It’s unclear why the SEC made these changes, but lawyer Jeremy Hogan of Hogan & Hogan asserted that on X the court case would be unimpacted by the switch.
“It could mean something internally at the SEC, but it doesn’t affect the lawsuit one way or another. The court doesn’t care what the SEC does on its website,” Hogan tweeted, responding to the chatter.
SEC v Ripple
In December 2020, the SEC accused Ripple, CEO Garlinghouse, and executive chairman Larsen of conducting $1.3 billion in unregistered securities via the company’s native token (XRP).
The multi-year legal battle resulted in a partial victory for both parties. A judge ruled that retail XRP sales did not violate federal securities laws, while institutional offerings did. Ripple was ordered to pay $125 million in fines, and both parties have filed appeal motions.
Rumors of the SEC removing Ripple’s case from its website were also probably spurred by plans to scale back crypto-related enforcement action at the watchdog. Under President Donald Trump, the SEC is expected to halt litigation against companies not directly involved in fraud.
