Ripple Nearly Shut Down Before Its Four-Year SEC Fight Began

By Isaac • July 12, 2026 12:42 pm •

Ripple came close to ending itself before its fight with the Securities and Exchange Commission became one of crypto’s defining legal battles.

CEO Brad Garlinghouse says he and co-founder Chris Larsen seriously considered dissolving the company after the SEC sued Ripple in December 2020. Their exit plan would have distributed Ripple’s XRP holdings to company shareholders on a pro rata basis and left no company behind to fight.

They chose the harder road. Hundreds of jobs, Ripple’s equity, and the future of a company built around cross-border payments all hung on that decision.

In a newly published KU Alumni interview, Garlinghouse called the shutdown question the most difficult decision he has faced as a chief executive.