Ripple Considered Shutting Down After SEC Lawsuit, Spent $150M on Legal Fees, CEO Reveals

According to CEO Brad Garlinghouse in a July 8 podcast interview at the University of Kansas School of Business, Ripple considered shutting down and distributing its XRP holdings to shareholders after the SEC filed a lawsuit against the company in 2020 over XRP sales. "We almost decided to shut down the company when the SEC sued us," Garlinghouse stated, noting the decision would have meant distributing XRP to shareholders on a pro-rata basis.

Ripple spent $150 million on legal bills during the four-year dispute, while its U.S. business remained largely stagnant for about five years after the lawsuit began. A 2023 court ruling found that XRP sales on public exchanges were not securities transactions, though sales to institutional investors were treated differently. The legal dispute formally concluded in August 2025 after both Ripple and the SEC withdrew their appeals.