Judge Torres Shatters SEC-Ripple Pact, Sparking Crypto Regulation Turmoil

“Procedurally improper,” Judge Analisa Torres declared, as she tossed the SEC and Ripple’s settlement motion and kept their legal showdown alive, according to a May 15 filing in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Judge Claims Crypto Filing Is Procedurally Improper

The decision comes just over a week after both Ripple and the federal regulator filed a settlement agreement that would begin the process of effectively removing the crypto company’s civil enforcement action against it.

“By styling their motion as one for ‘settlement approval,’ the parties fail to address the heavy burden they must overcome to vacate the injunction and substantially reduce the civil penalty,” Torres said.

In a May 8 statement posted to the SEC’s website, the two parties claimed that they “will seek a limited remand to the district court after which they would move to dismiss their respective appeals from the final judgment” in the event Torres denied the request.

The SEC Shifts Crypto Stance

The move is a slight setback in resolving the years-long court battle as the SEC moves toward establishing a crypto-friendly regulatory framework for digital assets under U.S. President Donald Trump’s current administration.

Trump, who largely campaigned on a pro-crypto stance, tapped former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins to spearhead the agency.

Atkins is expected to adopt a much more favorable approach to regulating the blockchain sector than his predecessor, Gary Gensler, who was known for his regulation-by-enforcement strategy.

“A key priority of my chairmanship will be to develop a rational regulatory framework for crypto asset markets that establishes clear rules of the road for the issuance, custody, and trading of crypto assets while continuing to discourage bad actors from violating the law,” Atkins said during a May 12 SEC roundtable.