- Ripple and the SEC are pushing to slash the fine to $50 million and get the XRP sales ban lifted.
- Legal watchers say there’s a strong shot the judge signs off on the deal.
Ripple and the SEC are teaming up in a last-minute move, asking Judge Analisa Torres to tweak her earlier decision. They’re looking to cut Ripple’s fine down from $125 million to $50 million and lift the ban that’s kept the company from selling XRP to institutional buyers. If the judge signs off, the deal would officially wrap up the years-long court fight, kill any appeals, and free up the $75 million Ripple still has locked in escrow.
The filing has sparked some cautious optimism in legal circles. John Deaton, a prominent figure in the XRP community, estimates there’s about a 70% chance it goes through. Backing that up, pro-XRP lawyer Bill Morgan said the way Ripple and the SEC are pitching the motion—as necessary to finally settle things—gives it real legal punch. Still, he warned people not to get ahead of themselves.
Judge Torres already shot down a similar motion back in May, saying it didn’t do enough to justify the ask. “This one’s definitely stronger,” Morgan said, “but nothing’s a lock. Judge Torres has already shown she won’t greenlight anything unless the legal argument is rock-solid.”
A Crucial Deadline and What It Could Mean for the Market
The clock’s ticking. By June 16, the SEC has to let the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit know whether things are moving forward between them and Ripple. If the judge signs off on the joint motion before—or not long after—that deadline, both sides would likely drop their appeals. That would finally close the book on this case once and for all.
But if the judge ends up rejecting the motion, it could drag the whole thing back into another long stretch of legal back-and-forth, leaving everyone hanging for months—maybe even longer.
Meanwhile, the crypto world’s watching every move. A lot of XRP holders are hoping a green light from the court could breathe new life into the token. Some analysts are even tossing around $5+ price targets if things go Ripple’s way. Still, how the market reacts will likely depend on the exact terms of the deal and what kind of signals come next from regulators.
For now, the joint motion is the clearest sign yet that both Ripple and the SEC are actually ready to move on and stop fighting this out in court.
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