Could Judge Torres Reverse Her Ruling?

• A US Judge may overturn her ruling in the Ripple vs SEC case based on some conditions.
• If the judge vacates her ruling, XRP could transition into a state-integrated financial bridge.

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Crypto expert Ashley Prosper recently shed light on Judge Analisa Torres’ latest ruling in the Ripple vs SEC case. As CNF reported last week, Judge Torres denied the joint request from Ripple Labs and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an indicative ruling.

Why Judge Analisa Torres Can Vacate Her Rulings

The motion aimed to settle under conditions different from the final verdict. The court asked Ripple to pay a $125 million fine and a permanent injunction for violating US securities laws. However, the SEC agreed that Ripple could pay only $50 million while setting aside the injunction. 

Upon the agreement, both parties asked the judge for an indicative ruling to approve the settlement. Judge Torres, however, denied the motion. The court found the motion failed to meet the legal threshold for such relief. Both parties are expected to re-file the motion in the coming weeks, but Prosper has suggested that the judge could vacate her final judgment. 

He noted that a classified or confidential federal interest in XRP could prompt the judge to reconsider her decision. According to Prosper, such evidence may come from the US Treasury, the Federal Reserve, or the Department of Justice (DOJ). 

If the document comes from the Treasury, it must affirm the role of XRP in a proposed national crypto asset reserve. In the case of the DOJ, the document should assert that continuing litigation or enforcement would undermine critical financial or diplomatic operations. Additionally, FedNow documents indicate pending or ongoing XRP integration into payment rails.

Prosper believes Judge Torres could vacate her ruling in deference to national interest, should the parties provide any of these documents. The Judge would need to review the documents privately due to their confidentiality.

Intervention from a Formal Executive Branch and Implications for XRP

Another key factor that could cause Judge Torres to reconsider her judgment is the consideration of an amicus brief from the Treasury or the Fed. The Treasury may argue that XRP is essential to the nation’s financial infrastructure. It could invoke legal principles such as the Chevron deference, which allows courts to defer to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes.

Although uncommon, Prosper noted that the courts have previously vacated judgments based on interventions from the executive branch. This is mainly in cases involving financial stability or foreign relations. 

Prosper believes XRP could transition from a mere coin to a state-integrated financial bridge if the judge vacates her ruling based on intervention from a federal branch. However, some community members have dismissed these perspectives as highly speculative and unlikely to happen.

The price of XRP continues to climb higher amid the drama surrounding the Ripple vs. SEC case. In the past 24 hours, the price of XRP has increased by over 2.4% to trade at $2.39. The positive uptick in the price of XRP is also attributed to increased activity from large investors.  

As detailed in our last news piece, XRP whales accumulated 110 million XRP coins in just five days.