Court rejects Ripple’s deal with SEC in securities case

U.S. District Court Judge Analisa Torres has denied a joint motion by Ripple and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in which the parties asked to reduce the civil penalty and lift an earlier injunction. This is stated in the ruling published earlier this week.

The document, filed in April, contained agreed-upon settlement terms between the parties. However, Torres pointed out that the SEC had previously pushed for an injunction because it feared that Ripple could continue activities subject to regulation as an illegal offering of securities.

“The circumstances of the case have not changed. Despite this, the parties argue that it is in the public interest to reduce the fine by more than half and to vacate the injunction issued less than a year ago in its entirety,” the judge stated in her decision.

The judge also noted that Ripple and the SEC had not presented compelling reasons that would have allowed the court to reconsider the earlier action. According to her, this is not just a private agreement between the parties, but a matter of public interest and law enforcement.

At the same time, Torres emphasized that the parties retain the option to withdraw earlier appeals or submit a new version of the agreement, if they deem it appropriate. In the meantime, the rejected deal has no legal effect.

The lawsuit between Ripple and the SEC began in December 2020, when the Commission accused the company of illegally selling XRP tokens, classifying them as unregistered securities. The case caused a wide resonance in the crypto industry.

In August 2024, the court issued a final judgment ordering Ripple to pay a $125 million fine. The regulator also obtained an injunction against some of the company’s transactions with digital assets.

In March 2025, the parties made mutual concessions: the SEC withdrew its appeal and Ripple dropped its counterclaim. However, the attempt to end the process amicably on lenient terms was not supported by the court.