U.S. SEC, Ripple Labs ask court to pause appeal amid pending motion

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Ripple Labs have asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to continue to pause their ongoing appeal.

According to a June 17 update on X by defense attorney James K. Filan, this comes amid a pending motion for an indicative ruling from the district court that could lead to a settlement and modification of the final judgment. 

In a June 16 filing shared by Filan, the SEC said both parties had reached a final agreement in principle, and now await an “indicative ruling” from the district court. If granted, it would allow the court to dissolve the injunction against Ripple and modify the $125 million penalty issued last year.

The motion was filed following an earlier order from April when the appeals court agreed to temporarily pause proceedings after the parties disclosed the possible settlement. The SEC is now set to submit a new status report by August 15.

According to the filing, the proposed settlement includes the removal of the injunction against Ripple and adjusting how the civil penalty is handled. The penalty, currently held in escrow, would be split, with $50 million going to the SEC and the rest returned to Ripple. Both sides have agreed to file a joint motion to request the changes if the court gives a favorable indication.

This latest attempt at resolution follows years of litigation dating back to 2020, when the SEC sued Ripple for allegedly offering unregistered securities. In July 2023, a federal judge ruled that Ripple’s programmatic sales did not violate securities laws but upheld charges related to institutional sales. The penalty was placed in escrow during the appeals process.

An attempt to settle the case in May 2025 failed after the court said “exceptional circumstances” were not met. But with the SEC now under new leadership and shifting its crypto enforcement strategy, the parties were quickly able to reach a revised deal.

The resolution of this case could have broader implications, including the potential approval of a spot XRP (XRP) exchange-traded fund. Several applications from firms like Grayscale and ProShares are pending, with deadlines approaching from June.

Market odds on Polymarket recently dipped to 88% after peaking at 98% in early June. Bloomberg analysts, on the other hand, still estimate an 85% chance of approval this year.