Ripple-SEC Legal Battle Continues As Judge Denies Early Termination Request

In a significant setback for both Ripple Labs and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Judge Analisa Torres has denied their joint request for an indicative ruling, indicating that the ongoing legal dispute will not be resolved just yet. This ruling comes despite both parties expressing a willingness to terminate the case.

Ripple And SEC Face Legal Setback

For context, a settlement was reached in March 2025, wherein Ripple agreed to pay a $50 million fine, a substantial reduction from the initial $125 million that had been proposed. 

The SEC also dropped its appeal, suggesting that the main legal confrontation between the two entities had effectively concluded. However, Judge Torres’ recent decision underscores that certain procedural steps still need to be addressed, including necessary court approvals.

In her ruling, Judge Torres emphasized that private agreements cannot override public judgments. She stated, “The parties do not have the authority to agree not to be bound by a court’s final judgment… They have not come close to doing so here.” 

This statement reinforces the idea that the court’s decisions serve the broader public interest, and any resolution must be in accordance with established legal standards.

As highlighted by FOX journalist Eleanor Terret, if Ripple and the SEC wish to extricate themselves from the case, Judge Torres indicated they have two options: they can either withdraw their appeals and allow the judgment to stand or proceed through the appeals process to contest it. 

XRP Price Takes A Hit

Following the judge’s recent decision, the XRP price dropped on Thursday, falling back to the $2.14 level by the time of publication. This represents a 4% decline in the last 24 hours for the fourth largest cryptocurrency.

Over the last month, XRP has also recorded a 9% drop. However, year-to-date, the cryptocurrency has surged nearly 350%, outperforming the ten largest digital assets in the industry, including Bitcoin (BTC).

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com