Legal expert breaks silence after major XRP crash 
Cryptocurrency Jun 27, 2025 Share
XRP slid 4% over the last 24 hours following a ruling from the U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres, who denied a joint motion from Ripple Labs and the SEC that sought to wrap up key elements of their long-running legal standoff.
The decision, filed on June 26, effectively keeps the door open for further appeals and delays a final resolution.
Within hours of the ruling, XRP fell from $2.16 to $2.09, erasing more than $5 billion in market capitalization in under 24 hours.
At $123.62 billion, it now holds the dubious distinction of posting the biggest single-day drop among the top 40 digital assets and becoming the most trending crypto asset between Thursday and Friday, according to CoinMarketCap.
XRP market cap. Source: CoinMarketCap
But while short-term sentiment has clearly taken a hit, not all observers believe the verdict spells trouble for XRP’s longer-term ambitions, particularly regarding a U.S.-listed spot XRP ETF.
Lawyer weight in on XRP ETF
Fred Rispoli, a legal commentator and vocal supporter of Ripple, argues that the ruling, though headline-grabbing, is unlikely to affect XRP’s standing on secondary markets, which is what ultimately matters for ETF eligibility.
SEC v. Ripple Update: This is a long post on my thoughts here but the TLDR is: "Welcome to the new SEC, for now more or less the same as the last one." And: Ripple and SEC will settle the appeal for the reduced, agreed upon amount and leave the Torres judgment in place, while the… https://t.co/9y9o4M4uBW
— Fred Rispoli (@freddyriz) June 26, 2025
“Regarding that injunction, it doesn’t affect $XRP on the secondary markets nor will it impact XRP ETF approvals,” Rispoli explained. “And remember, the injunction is just a piece of paper issued by a court… it only substantively matters if the SEC wants it to matter.”
In legal terms, Judge Torres’ injunction could theoretically give the court grounds to revisit the case if Ripple is found violating institutional sale restrictions. However, Rispoli emphasized that the SEC would need to actively push for enforcement, an outcome he describes as “extremely low probability.”
He also hinted at a broader shift in regulatory posture, suggesting that both Ripple and the SEC may be quietly negotiating a reduced penalty and new guidelines for Ripple’s institutional sales. Such a move would preserve the substance of the Torres ruling while avoiding further escalation.
The bigger unknown now lies with the SEC’s leadership. With the commission under political pressure to soften its stance on digital assets, and following the installation of a new Chair under President Trump, there’s growing speculation that an XRP ETF could still move forward, particularly given the rising tide of crypto ETF approvals across Bitcoin, Ethereum, and even altcoin ETFs in the pipeline.