Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have reached a preliminary agreement that could officially end one of the most significant legal battles in the cryptocurrency space. Under the agreement, the SEC will return 75 million Dollar of the 125 million Dollar fine that Ripple paid last year, leaving only 50 million Dollar for Settlement of the case.

Stuart Alderoty, the Chief Legal Officer at Ripple, announced the news on Tuesday, describing this move as a long-awaited decision. The deal still requires final approval from the commissioners of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and court approval.

The settlement comes shortly after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission dropped its planned appeal of a 2023 ruling by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres. In that decision, Torres found that Ripple's sales of XRP to individual investors on exchanges do not violate securities laws – which represents a partial victory for Ripple. However, she ruled that some institutional sales exceeded the limits, resulting in a fine of 125 million Dollar.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had initially sought civil penalties and damages totaling nearly two billion Dollars, but the court decided on a much lower amount. Now, Ripple can receive a refund covering 60% of that fine.