- The SEC and Ripple have jointly moved to dissolve the longstanding injunction tied to their legal battle
- They have proposed a $50 million payout to the SEC as part of a final resolution
- The motion follows over four years of litigation and recent policy shifts at the SEC under new leadership.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple Labs have requested a federal judge to lift the injunction from the 2024 Final Judgment and allow the release of $125 million in escrowed funds. Under a new proposed settlement, Ripple would pay $50 million to the SEC, with the remainder returned to the company. The move signals a final effort to resolve one of the most high-profile crypto enforcement cases to date, which has ended in humiliation for the agency.
A Long Legal Road Nears Its End
The SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple, first filed in December 2020, accused the company of unlawfully selling XRP as an unregistered security. The case has become one of the most pivotal in crypto regulation history, drawing global attention and stirring debate about how U.S. securities laws apply to digital assets. In July 2023, Judge Analisa Torres issued a mixed ruling that found Ripple’s institutional sales of XRP violated securities laws, but that secondary market sales did not.
Now, with appeals pending before the Second Circuit, both parties are seeking what they call an “exceptional” resolution. In a joint filing dated June 12, 2025, they asked the court to dissolve the injunction and permit disbursement of funds held since the $125 million penalty was imposed:
#XRPCommunity #SECGov v. #Ripple #XRP The parties have renewed their request for an indicative ruling. pic.twitter.com/8uESP4eWa1
— James K. Filan 🇺🇸🇮🇪 (@FilanLaw) June 12, 2025
Policy Shifts and Precedent Cited
The filing notes that since January 2025, SEC Chairman Mark Uyeda has launched a policy shift toward negotiated crypto settlements, stating, “Termination of the appeals by the SEC and Ripple in this case would be consistent with these dismissals by joint stipulation.” The parties argue that continuing to enforce the injunction would serve no further public interest and that “Doing so would promote efficiency and the policy favoring settlements.” They added that resolving the issue in this manner would be “be consistent with the SEC’s recent actions in other crypto registration cases.”
If approved, the agreement would finalize Ripple’s obligation with a $50 million payment to the SEC, with the filing confirming that “The escrow account holding the $125,035,150 civil penalty… would be released and distributed. The balance would return to Ripple, effectively closing the book on a case that has shaped the legal contours of the crypto industry.
