Former U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Chris Giancarlo has said the Securities and Exchange Commission may ultimately abandon its lawsuit against Ripple, a case widely seen as one of the most important regulatory battles in the crypto industry. His remarks have drawn attention because the outcome could shape not only XRP’s status, but also the broader U.S. approach to digital asset enforcement.
Giancarlo urges a rethink of the Ripple case
Speaking in a recent interview, Giancarlo said of the SEC dropping the case: “I think they should … I would bet they would.” Known in the industry as “Crypto Dad” for his support of blockchain innovation, he argued that regulators should reassess cases in which they have already suffered meaningful setbacks at trial.
The SEC has accused Ripple of violating securities laws through its XRP-related activities. But the litigation produced a split ruling that complicated the agency’s position. In July 2023, Judge Analisa Torres held that XRP was not a security when sold to retail investors on exchanges, while institutional sales were treated differently and fell under securities law. That decision was widely viewed as a major win for Ripple and a serious blow to the SEC’s broader theory.
Court rulings weakened the SEC’s leverage
After that ruling, the SEC sought a $2 billion penalty against Ripple, but the court imposed a much smaller $125 million fine. Then in October 2024, Judge Torres denied the SEC’s request to appeal, saying the regulator had failed to show substantial grounds for a difference of opinion. Even so, the SEC later appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, arguing that the decision conflicted with Supreme Court precedent.
Giancarlo described the Ripple litigation as an example of the SEC’s mixed results in crypto enforcement. In his view, when an agency has already lost important parts of a case, it should consider stepping back rather than pressing ahead with a weakened legal position.
A policy shift could influence the outcome
He also suggested that a more crypto-friendly administration in Washington could affect how the SEC handles pending digital asset cases. That possibility matters because the Ripple dispute has become a defining legal test for where U.S. securities law begins and ends in the crypto market.
Giancarlo has previously backed the argument that XRP is not a security, and his latest comments are consistent with his long-standing call for clearer and more balanced regulation. If the SEC were to reverse course, the Ripple case could become a major signal that U.S. crypto policy is entering a new phase, with potentially important implications for XRP and the wider digital asset sector.