Judge Torres extends Ripple, SEC drama with indicative ruling denial

Ripple, Inc. was denied an indicative ruling, which was regarded as the best ending to the years-long lawsuit by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The denial of the requested indicative ruling may affect the decision process on the intended XRP ETF. 

Ripple, Inc. was denied an indicative ruling on the long-running lawsuit with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Judge Analisa Torres denied the request, filed earlier this month.

The indicative ruling was supposed to end the lawsuit for good, while decreasing the $125M civil fine requested of Ripple. Analysts noted the main reason may be non-compliant or insufficient filings to trigger an indicative ruling.

The denial indicated that the sides did not meet the legal standards for indicative rulings or relief from judgment. Before the verdict, both the US SEC and Ripple were blocked from appeals while awaiting the court decision. 

Ripple and SEC continue to look for resolution

The next step for both sides is to renew appeals and move on to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeals are expected to start from August 15 onward. 

Ripple’s hopes of a fast resolution were also dashed. The company is still liable to pay $125M in fines, instead of just $50M.

A further limitation still does not allow XRP to be sold to institutions, becoming an obstacle to wider adoption. The decision arrives at a time when XRP is considered a suitable asset for ETFs, as well as for eventual altcoin corporate treasuries. Currently, XRP can be bought on the open market, but Ripple’s reserves may remain idle. 

Even the lack of an indicative ruling will not change the 2023 verdict about XRP’s security status. However, Ripple did not gain its request to dissolve the injunction against breaking security laws. The recent request also does not allow either of the parties to change the July 13, 2023, Summary Judgment Order.

Previous rulings did not detail the actions in case Ripple was denied the indicative ruling, as described in earlier court decision documents.

The lawsuit was seen as one of the last obstacles to wider XRP usage. For now, the official statement of the project’s founder, Brad Garlinghouse, is that the lawsuit against the SEC is over. The regulator has no additional requests to investigate the launch of XRP and Ripple’s activity. 

Since March 19, Ripple has been considered free of any additional concerns around the lawsuit. This was one of the main triggers for renewed filings for an eventual ETF. The recent verdict may also require additional procedures before the final indicative ruling. 

Ripple achieves growth despite the lawsuit obstacle

XRP remains one of the winners in 2025, getting a boost from November 6 onward. XRP already climbed from the long-term range of around $0.50 to a peak at $3.28 in January. 

Currently, XRP remains stable at around $2.19, though closely watched for accumulation and a renewed climb to a higher range. 

XRP saw a spike in whale-to-exchange transactions on June 26, in expectation of the indicative ruling. Overall, XRP has seen whale accumulation behind the scenes, with renewed expectations of breaking above $3. The lawsuit failed to become an immediate catalyst, but XRP retains its long-term support from its community.

RippleX is also expanding the project’s multi-chain capabilities and bids to join the DeFi space. It partnered with the Wormhole Bridge, one of the most widely used cross-chain services. Wormhole will serve for multi-chain transfers, servicing both the existing XRP Ledger and the new XRPL EVM sidechain, which will be Ethereum-compatible.

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