XRP Faces Setback as Judge Rejects Ripple’s Court Motion

The XRP community has encountered a significant legal hurdle following a recent court decision that denied Ripple’s attempt to modify key aspects of its case with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This decision, handed down by Judge Analisa Torres of the Southern District of New York, has stirred fresh concerns for Ripple as the legal battle continues into 2025.

Ripple and the SEC had jointly requested the court to revise the final judgment reached in 2024. They proposed reducing Ripple’s financial penalty from $125 million to $50 million and lifting a standing injunction that prohibited Ripple from offering XRP to institutional investors in the U.S. Their request cited a mutual settlement agreement and invoked Rule 60(b), a procedural mechanism that allows for relief from final judgments under specific conditions. However, the judge concluded that the situation did not meet the extraordinary standards required to justify such relief.

At the heart of this decision lies Judge Torres’ assertion that final court judgments serve the broader interests of the public, not merely those of the disputing parties. The court emphasized that judicial outcomes can’t be retroactively amended unless driven by extremely rare and justified circumstances. The judgment stated clearly that the legal precedent and public integrity must be preserved, and mere agreement between involved parties is insufficient to overturn or reduce penalties imposed by the court.

The court’s rejection came despite Ripple highlighting recent regulatory shifts within the SEC following the departure of its former Chair, Gary Gensler. Ripple claimed the agency’s softening stance on crypto enforcement should set a precedent for a lighter penalty. They pointed to the SEC’s decision to drop enforcement actions against other major platforms like Coinbase and Kraken. However, Judge Torres dismissed these arguments. She stated that none of the referenced cases resulted in injunctions or civil penalties, and they were dismissed before any definitive court ruling. Thus, they offered no legal basis for overturning existing judgments against Ripple.

The ruling further reinforced the court’s previous assessments regarding Ripple’s conduct. The SEC had labeled Ripple’s actions over an eight-year span as “reckless” and “egregious,” and noted that there was considerable risk the company would fail to comply with regulatory expectations in the future. Judge Torres reiterated that those findings remained relevant and that Ripple’s recent motion did not convincingly challenge these earlier conclusions.

The decision has now clouded Ripple’s settlement efforts. Although the company reached a mutual agreement with the SEC earlier this year after years of litigation, the judge emphasized that the requirement to dissolve the injunction was included only because the parties had written it into their agreement—not because it was legally mandated. This distinction weakened Ripple’s legal foundation for amending the previous ruling.

In summary, despite attempts to leverage changing conditions and shifting regulatory approaches, Ripple’s motion has been denied. The sanctions and orders issued in the 2024 judgment, including the $125 million penalty and an injunction against institutional sales of XRP, remain intact.

Looking ahead, this development signals that the appeals process may still unfold unless Ripple decides to comply fully with the existing judgment. Legal expert Bill Morgan previously warned that this motion was pivotal to potentially ending the dispute. With that path now closed off, the legal struggle may persist longer than Ripple initially anticipated.

At the time of the latest ruling, XRP experienced a minor dip of 1.6% within 24 hours, reflecting investor uncertainty. While the legal landscape remains complicated, the decision underscores Ripple’s continued challenges in reshaping regulatory outcomes post-trial.

Related: Expert Advice: Sell XRP If You’re Confused

This moment is a reminder of the broader implications legal outcomes can have on the future strategies of blockchain firms, particularly those like Ripple playing a central role in cross-border financial technology and tokenized digital payments.