XRP News Today: Ripple and SEC Pause Appeal Process Awaiting Judge's Decision

Ripple and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have jointly requested a pause in the appeals process related to the XRP lawsuit. This request comes as both parties await a decision from Judge Analisa Torres on a high-risk application submitted in April. The application seeks to amend the final decision in the case, which presents what the parties describe as “extraordinary circumstances.” The joint status report, filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, reflects an agreement reached between Ripple and the SEC in April. This agreement reaffirms their mutual desire to suspend the appeal process until the district court makes a ruling on the pending motion.

The legal battle between Ripple and the SEC has been ongoing for several years. The SEC initially filed a lawsuit against Ripple, alleging that the company had raised over $1.3 billion through an unregistered, ongoing digital asset securities offering. The SEC's complaint also named Ripple's CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, and its executive chairman, Chris Larsen, as defendants, seeking to hold them liable for aiding and abetting Ripple's alleged violations. Ripple, however, has maintained that XRP, its native cryptocurrency, is not a security but a currency. The company argues that the SEC's lawsuit is an attempt to retroactively apply securities laws to a technology that did not exist when those laws were written. Ripple has also accused the SEC of unfairly targeting the company while allowing other cryptocurrencies to operate without regulation.

The legal drama took a new turn when Ripple filed a motion for summary judgment, asking the court to rule in its favor without a trial. Ripple argued that the SEC had failed to provide clear guidance on how to classify cryptocurrencies, and that the agency's enforcement actions were arbitrary and capricious. The SEC, in response, filed its own motion for summary judgment, arguing that Ripple's arguments were without merit and that the company had violated securities laws. The court has yet to rule on the motions for summary judgment, but the legal battle has already had significant implications for the cryptocurrency industry. The outcome of the case could set a precedent for how other cryptocurrencies are regulated, and could have a ripple effect on the entire industry. The case has also highlighted the need for clear regulatory guidance on cryptocurrencies, as the lack of clarity has led to uncertainty and confusion among market participants.

In a settlement framework proposed in April, the SEC agreed to significantly reduce the financial penalty imposed on Ripple. The regulatory body suggested reducing Ripple’s payable amount to $50 million. Additionally, the SEC requested the removal of a ban imposed by Judge Torres in August last year. The ban prohibited Ripple from selling XRP coins to institutional investors in the U.S., a restriction that is critically important for the company’s business operations. Under the leadership of the former SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, the regulatory body filed an appeal notice at the beginning of October. Ripple’s counter-appeal promptly followed this action. The SEC is required to submit its next status report by August 15, 2025.

In the joint request, it is stipulated that the appeals process will be deferred until August 15, 2025. Through this timeline, the district court can provide a ruling on the June 12 motion, whereby both Ripple and the SEC proposed a settlement, which had the two agreeing to pay a sum of $125 million in a civil penalty. In the terms, 50 million was set to the SEC, and the rest, 75 million, would have been out of escrow and would have gone back to Ripple. A previous injunction that was supposed to be litigated was also requested to be lifted in the June 12 motion, indicating that the two parties are working in coordination to get rid of the case. The critics of the law, such as the defense attorney James Filan, have suggested that such an action of suspending the appeals could be an indicator of a strategy that would be receiving an important ruling of the lower court.

In case the court fails to provide a decision by August 15, Ripple and the SEC will have to present another update. The period of the district court decision may define the future of the case and possibly bring the situation to its end even earlier, in case of the approval of the suggested compromise without objection. The cooperative aspect of a request means that the legal process is at a friendly stage. Although the suspension may lengthen the scheduling, the suspense may also shorten the process by the decision of the court in favour of the settlement. Things will depend on the decision to be made by the district court soon, and this is likely to determine the resolution of the case, which has been protracted for as far as three years.