- SEC ends Ripple lawsuit quietly, fueling XRP ETF speculation and legal clarity.
- ETF approval odds surge to 85% as Ripple engages lawmakers for regulatory reform.
- XRP price rises 3% amid strong trader interest and growing market confidence.
With the quiet but final end to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) lawsuit against Ripple, a major shift has occurred in the crypto market. After the SEC finally dropped its final appeal in March 2025, Ripple’s legal battle has come to an end, and the way is finally clear for new regulatory clarity and a renewed hope for a potential spot XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer, has confirmed that the SEC has withdrawn from all the remaining litigation in its case against Ripple. The SEC’s quiet withdrawal carried more weight than any major public announcements about the end of the lawsuit. The agency was enforcing old securities laws as they applied to a changing digital space, and Alderoty questioned what the original basis for the case might have been.
According to Alderoty, the industry should not be held accountable for flying blind, and there is still a need for a holistic piece of legislation specific to digital assets. Ripple and other blockchain firms have been in a dilemma for a long time because of the absence of regulatory frameworks.
Policy Conversations Gain Momentum
According to the report, Ripple is trying to work with lawmakers to add new rules for market safety, consumer protection, anti-fraud enforcement, and innovation support. These efforts come simultaneously with the SEC appointing the more collaborative-minded Paul Atkins as its new chair.
On May 2, 2025, Ripple Executive Chairman Chris Larsen privately met with Atkins. Although no official decisions have been made public, there will certainly be discussion about the changing status of XRP, which continues to serve as a crucial retail asset in the global infrastructure of digital finance. Atkins (who has taken a more flexible stance on crypto oversight) is widely seen as the potential catalyst for regulatory progress.
ETF Approval Odds Surge on Prediction Markets
Investor interest in an XRP ETF has galvanized in the weeks following this report and the end of the lawsuit. Now, Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas says approval has an 85 percent chance by year’s end. That outlook is supported by the prediction market Polymarket, which places the probability of an XRP ETF spot approval at 79%. In the past 24 hours, that figure has changed very little, between 77% and 79%, indicating high market confidence.
Polymarket put ETF approval odds at just 65% earlier in the year, but this marks an increase from that point. In addition, the sustained rise in probability hints at an increasingly high probability that regulatory green lights are already well underway behind the scenes, following recent SEC ETF filing acknowledgments.
XRP Price Reacts as Traders Position Themselves
Even though the market did not show much promise over the weekend, the XRP market is on the mend. The price has peaked at $2.23 again and is up by more than 3% in the last 24 hours. The rise is a product of optimism from investors expecting wider market access to the assets by a regulated ETF.
An XRP ETF would enable exposure similar to what’s already out on exchange platforms, utilizing an ETF. Still, instead of investing, the ETF holder would directly purchase the XRP, which would be managed on their behalf. An approved XRP ETF would be significant because it would signify how regulators consider the token, and institutions would validate its usage case.
