Pro-XRP lawyer Bill Morgan argues that the SEC lawsuit is no longer a valid excuse for XRP’s stagnant price and limited adoption.
The prominent legal commentator made this assertion in response to a community member’s query regarding the fine in escrow that Ripple was ordered to pay to the SEC.
Ripple Has Paid $125M Fine
For context, after Judge Torres issued her final judgment in the case, Ripple placed the $125 million fine in an interest-bearing account managed by its lawyers, while also appealing the verdict.
Following a settlement earlier this year, the SEC agreed to reduce the fine to $50 million. However, Judge Torres rejected attempts to reduce it further from her initial order of $125 million.
Although both parties withdrew their respective appeals in the Second Circuit in August, little has been disclosed regarding the status of the escrowed funds. This prompted a community member to ask on X yesterday whether Ripple has fulfilled the payment.
In response, attorney Morgan affirmed that Ripple’s lawyers have paid the fine. Although the payment did not go viral, a court document shared by former SEC official Marc Fagel shows that Ripple’s lawyers paid the $125 million fine to the U.S. Treasury last month.
No. They paid the full $125 to the Treasury. I assume the balance was interest that accrued pending the appeal.
— Marc Fagel (@Marc_Fagel) September 22, 2025
SEC Lawsuit No Longer Responsible for XRP Stagnation
Notably, Morgan suggested that the lawsuit is no longer a valid excuse for XRP’s relatively flat price performance and slow adoption pace. He emphasized that the SEC lawsuit has run its course.
Previously, many attributed the SEC case as the primary reason behind XRP’s lackluster performance. This speculation lingered throughout the duration of the lawsuit, which began in December 2020.
To put things into perspective, while many crypto assets registered new all-time highs in the 2021 bull cycle, XRP could not surpass its peak price of $3.84 set in January 2018. Instead, it only reached $1.96 in April 2021.
Meanwhile, XRP moved close to establishing a new peak in July 2025, several months after the parties agreed to withdraw the case.
Since then, XRP’s momentum has slowed, with its price mostly hovering around the $3 price mark. Some enthusiasts attributed the stagnation to the so-called “price suppression theory,” while others linked it to the broader crypto market’s bearish trend.
In his commentary, Morgan dismissed attempts to blame the SEC lawsuit as the primary reason behind XRP’s limited adoption and sluggish price action.
In other words, the legal uncertainty surrounding XRP is over, and the token’s fundamentals should dictate the price.
At the moment, XRP has dropped to the fourth position in the global crypto ranking. It is currently trading at $2.87 per token, with a market cap of $171.77 billion.
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