- SEC maintains Ripple appeal focus: Agency prioritizes urgent cases; Ripple’s brief due April 16, CEO calls SEC approach repetitive.
- Brazil greenlights XRP ETF first: Hashdex-managed product approved by CVM, simplifies access for 200M residents via regulated structure.
The SEC has not halted its appeal against Ripple Labs, as court records indicate the agency is prioritizing cases with immediate deadlines. Legal sources told Fox Business the SEC’s focus remains on pressing litigation, including its challenge to a July 2023 ruling that partially favored Ripple.
🚨NEW: On the @SECGov pausing ongoing litigation against #crypto firms — I’m told by multiple legal sources that the SEC has been prioritizing cases with imminent court deadlines, which is one explanation for why we haven’t seen pause requests in the @Ripple and @krakenfx cases.…
— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) February 19, 2025
Ripple requested an Apr. 16 deadline for its opening brief in the cross-appeal, while the SEC filed its initial brief in January. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse criticized the SEC’s approach as repetitive, and Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty called the filings “noise.” The company previously urged the SEC to delay proceedings following Chair Gary Gensler’s departure, but the agency declined.
Meanwhile, the SEC recently sought a 60-day pause in its case against Binance and is reportedly nearing a resolution in its lawsuit against Coinbase. Speculation suggests the agency may delay decisions on Ripple until Paul Atkins, a former SEC commissioner nominated in 2023, assumes a leadership role.
Atkins, known for supporting clearer crypto regulations, awaits Senate confirmation. Alderoty has publicly predicted the SEC could withdraw its case by 2025 if internal priorities shift.
Separately, Brazil approved the world’s first XRP-focused exchange-traded fund (ETF), managed by asset firm Hashdex. The Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (CVM), Brazil’s securities regulator, greenlit the product, though its listing date on the B3 stock exchange remains undisclosed. With a population exceeding 200 million, Brazil represents a major market for regulated crypto investment vehicles.
The ETF allows exposure to XRP without direct asset custody, simplifying access for institutions and retail participants. ETHNews analysts suggest the product could enhance XRP’s liquidity and reinforce its use in cross-border payment systems, particularly through Ripple’s existing partnerships in Latin America.
While U.S. firms like CoinShares and Bitwise have begun preliminary steps toward XRP ETF filings, Brazil’s approval places it ahead in adopting such structures. The move aligns with growing regional interest in crypto-based financial tools, contrasting with the SEC’s prolonged legal disputes.
As regulatory approaches diverge globally, the outcome of the Ripple case and Brazil’s ETF experiment may influence how jurisdictions balance oversight with market growth.
