Ripple Labs’ latest courtroom maneuver has revived hopes that the company’s five-year battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission could be functionally over within days. In a two-page supplemental letter filed on 17 June, Ripple asked US District Judge Analisa Torres to grant an “indicative ruling” signalling that she would dissolve the injunction contained in last August’s final judgment and accept the parties’ agreed reduction of the civil penalty to $50 million.
XRP Ruling Next Week?
The filing—submitted one week after the SEC and Ripple jointly renewed their Rule 62.1 motion under the stricter Rule 60(b)(6) standard—argues that lifting the so-called “obey-the-law” injunction would not alter Ripple’s substantive obligations because “Ripple, like every other market participant, is obligated to follow the law, regardless of whether an injunction is imposed or not.”
The renewed motion itself, lodged on 12 June, sets out the procedural chain required to end the litigation: if Judge Torres grants the indicative ruling, the parties will petition the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit for a limited remand; once the district court formally dissolves the injunction and enters the reduced penalty, both sides will move to dismiss their appeal and cross-appeal. The joint brief contends that “exceptional circumstances” exist because settlement now would conserve judicial resources, remove appellate risk on both sides and align Ripple’s posture with other digital-asset defendants whose cases the Commission has recently dropped.
Crypto defence lawyer Fred Rispoli believes the supplemental letter may be decisive. Writing on X shortly after it appeared, he noted that “at 1.5 pages, this is not the strongest attempt—but it’s an attempt,” before highlighting three omissions the letter finally corrects: the primacy of appellate courts, the reality that dissolving the injunction changes nothing about Ripple’s legal duties, and the SEC’s own choice to make Ripple an early test case.
“I’m still underwhelmed but feeling more optimistic. This may push us over the line,” he concluded. Responding to community questions, Rispoli forecast that Judge Torres is “highly likely” to rule this week or next; a positive ruling would trigger the remand process and, once formalised, “then case over.”
His cautiously upbeat assessment drew support from immigration attorney and crypto commentator Greg Beuke, who agreed: “Glad to see Ripple explain they would still have to follow the law without an injunction. Would’ve liked to see a bit more explanation of the importance of dismissing injunction, and the reason for the request. Nevertheless, I think this letter improves the chances of approval.”
James Farrell queried why Ripple was “fighting so hard to get it vacated” if the XRP injunction truly changes nothing; Rispoli retorted that critics were comparing Ripple to “obvious fraud cases” and ignoring more than a dozen crypto defendants—Kraken, Coinbase, Consensys, Robinhood and others—whose enforcement actions the SEC has abandoned altogether.
What Still Needs To Happen Afterwards?
Pro-XRP lawyer Bill Morgan laid out the settlement timetable in a thread updated on 18 June. According to Morgan, the parties signed a settlement agreement on 23 April (SEC approval followed on 8 May), obtained a 60-day pause of the appellate calendar through 16 June and filed their second, procedurally compliant Rule 62.1/60 motion on 12 June. The missing piece is Judge Torres’s indicative ruling; once that drops, the remaining steps—remand, formal order, payment of the $50 million penalty and dismissal of the appeals—could be completed “within the next several weeks,” Morgan wrote.
While Ripple waits, the appeals remain frozen. In a status report dated 17 June, the parties asked the Second Circuit to keep the case in abeyance and promised an update by 15 August 2025. The filing reiterates that the settlement is “subject to Commission approval,” but states that both sides prefer to conclude the matter in the district court if Judge Torres is willing.
The district judge’s summary-judgment ruling of 13 July 2023—in which she held that programmatic sales of XRP on exchanges were not investment contracts—remains untouched. Last year she imposed a $125 million penalty and the injunction now under challenge; both were stayed while the appeals proceeded. The renewed motion asks the court to modify only those remedial provisions, leaving the merits intact.
For XRP holders, the calendar is now binary. If Torres issues the indicative ruling in the coming days, the Second Circuit could remand the case well before the 15 August status deadline, allowing the parties to implement their deal and terminate the litigation during the summer recess. Should she deny the request, the case would revert to the appellate track, where briefing has been stalled since April. Rispoli, for one, sees momentum in Ripple’s favour: “This may push us over the line.”
At press time, XRP traded at $2.16.
Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
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