The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has officially suspended the appeal between the SEC and Ripple. 

The court issued the order a week after Ripple and the SEC jointly requested to pause further proceedings in the appeal. As previously reported, the parties suggested that an agreement was in place to resolve the appeal. 

Court Grants Request 

Interestingly, Judge José A. Cabranes of the Second Circuit granted the request, temporarily suspending the appellate proceedings. This implies that neither the SEC nor Ripple will file any appellate briefs until the court lifts the appeal suspension. 

Notably, the court ordered the SEC to file a status report within 60 days of the order, which was issued on April 16. The report, expected to be filed on or before June 15, will update the court on whether the parties have resolved the appeal or wish to continue with the case. 

#XRPCommunity #SECGov v. #Ripple #XRP The parties’ joint motion to hold the appeal in abeyance has been granted. The @SECGov is directed to file a status report within 60 days of this Order. pic.twitter.com/mUgEBaJRuU

— James K. Filan 🇺🇸🇮🇪 (@FilanLaw) April 16, 2025

Agreement Still Requires SEC Approval 

Following the temporary suspension of the appeal, the SEC must decide on its in-principle agreement with Ripple for the potential resolution. 

It bears mentioning that the agreement relates to the SEC vacating the permanent injunction a New York federal court imposed on Ripple’s XRP institutional sales and slashing the fine from $125 million to $50 million. 

To proceed, the SEC commissioners must approve this internal in-principle agreement. As of now, the agency leadership is still considering those terms. 

Next Step in Ripple Lawsuit

Once approved, the parties will jointly file a motion to modify U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres’ final ruling. Specifically, the SEC and Ripple would ask Judge Torres to vacate the permanent injunction and reduce the fine to $50 million. 

Popular legal expert Attorney Fred Rispoli also shared this sentiment in reaction to the Second Circuit’s latest order. 

Recall that Judge Torres issued the permanent injunction and fine against Ripple following her findings that the company violated federal securities laws through its XRP sales to institutional clients. 

The injunction prohibits Ripple from engaging in future institutional sales of XRP without obtaining the necessary exemptions from the SEC. However, the order was seen as a major limitation to Ripple’s operations in the U.S. 

Many suggested it could hinder the company from effectively serving clients with its payment solution, which leverages XRP for cross-border payments. Hence, Ripple pursued dismissal of the injunction and payment of a reduced fine. 

Notably, Attorney Rispoli predicted that the Ripple lawsuit would be completely resolved before May 25, potentially ending the case, which began in December 2020.