Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse he recently commented United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) long-running legal battle against his company. It comes amid recent events that suggest the case could soon be over.

SEC lawsuit against Ripple could end ‘very soon’

Garlinghouse mentioned during interview with Bloomberg that SEC case against Ripple could end “very soon,” although he added that they can’t predict exactly when the judge will issue a ruling. Garlinghous, meanwhile, declined to comment when asked if his company and the SEC are currently in settlement talks.

Appropriate remedies for Ripple’s violation of securities laws after Judge Analisa Torres’ ruling remains the only issue to be resolved in this long-running legal battle. While Judge Torres ruled that XRP is not a security in and of itself, she also declared that Ripple’s sale of XRP to institutional investors was an investment contract. As such, the cryptocurrency company violated securities laws by selling unregistered securities.

Ripple and the SEC disagree on the appropriate remedies for such violations. The commission initially proposed a fine of almost $2 billion, then ultimately reduced it to $102.6 million. Ripple, on the other hand, proposed that they should be fined not more than $10 million.

Despite both sides being at odds, there has been speculation that Ripple and the SEC could still negotiate an out-of-court settlement. Brett Hill, ambassador for cryptocurrency exchange Bitrue, recently mentioned that the closed meeting, which the SEC was originally scheduled to hold on July 18, was related to a settlement between the cryptocurrency company and the regulator.

However, according to information obtained from SEC websitethis closed meeting did not ultimately take place on July 18 as proposed. Instead, it is scheduled to take place on July 25, although it is unclear whether the agenda actually has anything to do with the Commission’s case against Ripple.

One Year On: Impact of Judge Torres’ Ruling

July 13 marked one year since Judge Torres issued her historic ruling that XRP is not a security in itself. Reflecting on this moment, Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer (CLO) Stuart Alderoty took to his X (formerly Twitter) platform to highlight how the decision has since impacted the cryptocurrency industry.

Alderoty noted that Judge Torres’ decision led to many similar decisions, Binance Case being the latest. In it, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman ruled that the cryptocurrency exchange’s sales of BNB were not investment contracts. The Ripple CLO added that the decisions recognized “the SEC’s flagrant overreach and disregard for the law under Chairman Gensler.”

While Alderoty admitted that Ripple’s case before the SEC is “not completely over,” he said the court’s ruling that XRP is not a security “will not change,” as even the SEC informed the court that it does not intend to challenge the ruling.

Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com