David Schwartz and former SEC official Marc Fagel said the SEC case focused on Ripple’s XRP sales, while attorney John Deaton said nearly 4,000 holder affidavits helped shape the 2023 court ruling.
Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz said the SEC acknowledged XRP is not inherently a security, even as it argued some XRP-related transactions should be treated as securities because buyers expected profits from Ripple’s efforts. Former SEC regional director Marc Fagel said the enforcement action targeted Ripple’s XRP sales rather than the token itself. Attorney John Deaton said nearly 4,000 XRP holders helped shape Judge Analisa Torres’ July 13, 2023 summary judgment decision through affidavits, his amicus brief and his LBRY courtroom exchange. Torres split Ripple’s sales, finding $728.9 million in direct institutional sales violated securities law while programmatic exchange sales to retail buyers did not. Ripple later paid a $125 million fine in 2024, and the case formally ended in August 2025 when both sides dropped their appeals.