• SEC announced that its Enforcement Director, Gurbir Grewal, will leave office after a  three-year tenure
• The regulator appealed Judge Torres' ruling in its case against Ripple Labs.
• XRP ETF is unlikely to see approval following the SEC's appeal.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed an appeal against Judge Analisa Torres's ruling in its case against Ripple Labs on Wednesday, a few hours after its Enforcement Director, Gurbir Grewal, stepped down from his role in the agency.

SEC files for appeal against XRP despite departure of Enforcement Director

The SEC revealed that Gurbir Grewal, one of its top officials who has served as its Enforcement Director, will be leaving office on October 11. Gurbir has led the Enforcement Division for the last three years.

Under his tenure, more than 100 enforcement actions were taken against the crypto industry, including the cases against Ripple and Coinbase. He also oversaw $20 billion in penalties across 2400 actions taken.

He will temporarily be replaced by Sanjay Wadhwa, currently acting as Deputy Director in the Division.

"I'm pleased that Sanjay Wadhwa has said yes to taking on the Acting Director role. He has served as part of a remarkable leadership team, along with Gurbir, as Deputy Director and has been with the agency for more than two decades," said SEC Chair Gary Gensler.

Several crypto community members celebrated the news concerning Gurbir's departure, indicating that this could spell bad news for the Gensler administration.

However, the victory seemed short-lived, as the SEC filed an appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit concerning Judge Analisa Torres's final ruling in August in the regulator's case against Ripple Labs.