The prolonged legal battle between the SEC and Ripple Labs, initiated in December 2020 over the alleged $1.3 billion unregistered XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) sale, may soon conclude, according to a Fox Business report.

A new report revealed that the SEC is reportedly considering whether the $XRP token has "morphed" into a commodity as Ethereum has done over the years – the discussions are reportedly part of talks around a nearing agreement over the regulator's lawsuit against Ripple.

The SEC brought the lawsuit against Ripple in December 2020, alleging that Ripple's sales of XRP were unregistered securities offerings. Ripple has pushed back, arguing that the asset XRP should not be regulated as a security and accusing the SEC of inconsistent regulation in the crypto space.

The SEC explores XRP commodity classification in talks with Ripple, impacting its legal status and comparison with Ethereum.

The SEC is considering classifying XRP as a commodity in its ongoing settlement talks with Ripple Labs. According to FOX correspondent Charles Gasparino, the US securities regulators are using Ether as a benchmark in order to build a case for either classifying XRP as a commodity or maintaining its current classification.

The case, which has dragged on since December 2020 when the SEC accused Ripple of raising over $1.3 billion through unregistered sales of its closely related XRP token, may finally be wrapping up — though not without last-minute wrangling over its terms.

XRP climbed Wednesday night as crypto users discussed a new report regarding the SEC supposedly wrapping up its case against Ripple, the largest known corporate holder of the $XRP token and the overseer of the XRP Ledger's development.

Ripple’s legal fight with the SEC is close to ending, but it’s not going quietly. The $125 million fine and permanent ban on institutional XRP sales are still on the table, and Ripple is pushing back.