Ripple-SEC Legal Battle Drags On: Judge Torres Shuts Down Critical Motion

Another twist in the endless crypto-regulation saga—Judge Analisa Torres just denied a pivotal SEC request, prolonging a case that’s become the legal equivalent of watching paint dry.

Key development: The ruling blocks the SEC’s attempt to fast-track appeals, ensuring this courtroom drama will drain more taxpayer funds before reaching resolution.

Between the lines: While XRP holders cheer the delay, Wall Street quietly invoices another quarter of billable hours. Some things in finance never change—whether it’s 2008 or 2025, lawyers always win.

What’s next for the Ripple lawsuit?

It’s worth pointing out that the Biden-era SEC appealed Judge Torres’ 2024 ruling on the sale of XRP on other exchanges being non-securities.

In a rejoinder, Ripple filed a cross-appeal to address various issues raised by the regulator and challenge the $125 million penalty. 

Although the SEC withdrew its appeal in March, Ripple’s cross-appeal was still active, hence the need for an indicative ruling to advance the resolution.

An indicative ruling refers to a court’s statement on its potential rule on a motion that falls within its purview. 

Reacting to the update, Ripple’s legal chief Stuart Alderoty clarified, 

“Nothing in today’s order changes Ripple’s wins (i.e. XRP is not a security, etc). This is about procedural concerns with the dismissal of Ripple’s cross-appeal.” 

He added that they would revisit the issue with the court. 

For his part, Fred Rispoli, a pro-crypto attorney, viewed Judge Torres’ rejection as a ‘waste’ of her time, five years on the case.

But he noted that a resolution may take a month to achieve. 

“I do think that will get it done, but that’s going to take at least 2-3 weeks for Ripple and SEC to put together and file. Another week or two for the judge to rule.”

Interestingly, the XRP market was positive despite the update, according to CoinGlass exchange netflow data.

In the past 12 hours, nearly $50M worth of XRP (negative, red) were moved from exchanges for self-custody. 

Source: Coinglass 

When zoomed out on the 7-day period, over $270M XRP were withdrawn from exchanges, reflecting bullish expectations of future rallies. 

Likewise, Futures market retail activity was at a neutral level, a contrast to the ‘too many retail’ threshold hit during last year’s rally.

Source: CryptoQuant

Historically, a massive spike in retail has been used as a liquidity exit and potential ‘top’ indicator. Simply put, the current XRP retail status meant more growth could be feasible. 

That said, XRP slipped 6% after the update from $2.6 to $2.4.