XRP Faces Setback After Court Rejects Ripple-SEC Motion

Ripple’s bid to end SEC fight fails on technical grounds, delaying settlement and sparking uncertainty in the XRP market.

Yahya Raza
May 16, 2025
2:00 pm

Yahya Raza

Syed Yahya Raza Sherzai is a crypto news writer known for his in-depth analysis and timely reporting on blockchain technology, cryptocurrency markets, and decentralized finance (DeFi). With a keen eye for emerging trends and regulatory developments, Sherzai has established himself as a trusted voice in the cryptocurrency space.

XRP faces legal delay as judge rejects Ripple-SEC motion due to procedural filing errors.
The court rules that a motion amend a final judgment must follow Rule 60, requiring special grounds to amend a final judgment.
Investor confidence dips as XRP falls 7% and over $21M in long positions are liquidated.

Ripple’s push to end its legal fight with the SEC has run into trouble after a judge turned down their request to reduce the penalties and lift an injunction, saying the motion didn’t follow the proper requirements. The ruling, which James Filan first shared on X, has messed up plans for settling things and left XRP investors unsure about what will happen next.

On May 15, Judge Analisa Torres from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York made the decision. She denied the motion filed by Ripple and the SEC because she said it didn’t follow the right court procedure. The court said that the request wasn’t filed under Rule 60, which means special circumstances have to be shown to change a final court decision.

#XRPCommunity #SECGov v. #Ripple #XRP Judge Torres has denied the parties’ motion for an indicative ruling. “If jurisdiction were restored to this Court, the Court would deny the parties’ motion as procedurally improper.” pic.twitter.com/4s95ILvzsy
— James K. Filan 🇺🇸🇮🇪 (@FilanLaw) May 15, 2025

Ripple Responds to Ruling

However, the motion, filed on May 8, asked the court to cut Ripple’s civil penalty from $125 million down to $50 million and get rid of a related restraining order. Although both sides agreed on the terms as part of the settlement. The judge’s dismissal means they have to go back. And resubmit the motion in the right format before anything can move forward.

Attorney James Filan, active in the XRP legal community, posted the court documents and news on the X community. His update quickly spread among lawyers and crypto investors, causing a lot of buzz and reactions in the crypto world.

Ripple’s top lawyer, Stuart Alderoty, spoke up about the issue not long after it happened. He said that the denial was just a procedural step and didn’t take away from the previous wins Ripple had gotten in court. He said the 2023 decision showing that XRP is not a security for programmatic sales is still an important victory for Ripple.

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. Ripple and the SEC are fully in agreement to resolve this case and will revisit this issue with the Court, together. https://t.co/vBQdBD3FNe
— Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) May 15, 2025

XRP Case Complexity Grows

Alderoty mentioned that this case is only about the judges’ decision to move forward with the appeal. And it doesn’t have anything to do with what’s actually being argued in the case. He told his followers that Ripple and the SEC are still working together and trying to solve this problem amicably.

While, legal expert Fred Rispoli said that the case has gotten more complicated to figure out. He commented that they would have to go through the difficult and time-consuming process of making a formal legal motion. And proceeding with the case in court.

The delay has shaken investor confidence. XRP prices went down over 7% in the past day. And open interest is now down more than 9%, as shown by CoinGlass. Over $21 million in long positions were taken off the market as traders worried about the legal issues.