XRP win leaves Ripple a ‘bad actor’ with no crypto legal precedent set

Apr 04 2025 crypto


The SEC backed down in the Ripple case, but the industry remains in the dark on key legal questions and a “bad actor disqualification” stays.

Ripple has emerged (mostly) victorious from its long-running battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission, but for legal experts, the cases conclusion feels like a missed opportunity.

Since the case didnt advance to a higher court, Judge Analisa Torres original district court decision which famously differentiated between XRP sales to institutional investors and those on exchanges has not established a binding precedent. 

For the wider industry, the cases murky status leaves companies struggling with unanswered questions: How should token offerings be structured? What legal weight does Torres decision really carry? And what happens now that the SEC seems to be pivoting away from enforcement-heavy tactics?

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