Facing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's 2020 lawsuit, Ripple's leadership seriously debated ending the company altogether. CEO Brad Garlinghouse revealed that he and co-founder Chris Larsen considered winding down operations and distributing the company's XRP holdings to shareholders rather than mounting a costly legal defense. The SEC's suit alleged that Ripple's sale of XRP constituted an unregistered securities offering, a case that carried significant financial and reputational risk for the firm. Ultimately, Garlinghouse said the two chose to contest the allegations in court. The disclosure highlights how close one of the crypto industry's most prominent legal battles came to never happening, and underscores the stakes the litigation posed for Ripple's survival. The years-long case became a closely watched test of regulatory authority over digital assets in the United States.
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