(Reuters) -The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will drop its appeal against Ripple Labs, the crypto firm's CEO Brad Garlinghouse said in a post on social media platform X.

The move would end a legal battle that began in 2020 when the regulator sued the company, accusing it of offering unregistered securities.

"This is it - the moment we've been waiting for," Garlinghouse wrote on X, adding that the SEC's decision was "a resounding victory" for the company and the crypto industry.

Ripple is the company behind XRP, the third biggest crypto token by market value, according to data from CoinMarketCap.