A prominent legal expert has explained that the SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit is still relevant to a particular class of XRP investors.
Despite the apparent wind-down of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s long-standing case against Ripple, Australian attorney Bill Morgan believes the matter still holds relevance for XRP investors, especially institutions.
Are There Any More Legal Risks Around Trading XRP?
His remarks came in response to a growing sentiment in the XRP community that the case is no longer significant. Notably, in the most recent update, Ripple and the SEC jointly asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to pause the appeals process until Aug. 15, 2025.
The request is part of efforts to allow U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres time to rule on a motion submitted on June 12, 2025. The motion seeks to amend the final judgment issued in the case, with both parties aiming to bring the years-long legal battle to an official end.
Crypto market commentator Dave Weisberger raised an important question. Weisberger asked if any traders still perceive legal risk for XRP in light of the developments. Specifically, he questioned why investors should care about the case if the market has already priced in the assumption that there’s no lingering SEC threat.
The SEC vs Ripple Case is Still Relevant to Institutional XRP Investors
Bill Morgan clarified that the legal risk has not entirely disappeared. According to him, the current uncertainty surrounding the permanent injunction still matters, particularly for institutional investors in the United States.
The dissolving of the injunction is still important at least to institutional investors who wish to acquire XRP from Ripple in the US. There will be uncertainty whether such a sale of XRP to institutional investors is an investment contract. From Ripple’s perspective, it alone… https://t.co/9s6tewYARQ
— bill morgan (@Belisarius2020) June 17, 2025
Recall that Judge Analisa Torres placed an injunction on Ripple in her final judgment last August regarding its future XRP sales to institutional investors. Notably, these investors may want to purchase XRP directly from Ripple, but they face a potential legal issue.
Morgan explained that without the dissolution of the injunction, uncertainty remains. The company could also face the threat of breaching a standing court order. From Ripple’s perspective, this legal overhang places it at a disadvantage compared to competitors not facing similar restrictions.
Essentially, while individual traders may not perceive immediate legal threats, institutional buyers operate under stricter compliance standards. This legal issue could hinder Ripple’s ability to engage in large-scale token sales, despite retail investors trading XRP freely.
Ripple and the SEC’s Push to Lift the Injunction
As a result, Ripple and the SEC’s move to lift this injunction is particularly important. For context, on June 12, both parties jointly filed a motion under Rule 60, requesting Judge Torres to modify the final judgment.
They proposed dissolving the injunction and redistributing the $125 million civil penalty, with $50 million going to the SEC and Ripple recovering $75 million. They cited shifts in regulatory attitudes and a shared interest in avoiding more litigation as grounds for the modification.
Judge Torres is expected to issue a ruling on this motion soon. This is not the first time Ripple and the SEC have tried to conclude the case this way. An earlier attempt was dismissed by Judge Torres due to procedural errors.
The current motion is a revised version, and if granted, it could close the book on the legal battle that has stretched on for over four years. Until then, the appeals process will remain paused, with another update due by mid-August.