The judge ruled in favor of both the SEC and Ripple in part, but the determination of security status has not been decided yet.

According to the court ruling, a federal judge in the United States has determined that Ripple's sale of XRP tokens through exchanges and algorithmic programs does not constitute an investment contract (and does not violate securities laws). However, the court also supported the SEC's motion, stating that institutional sales of tokens do indeed violate federal securities laws. Therefore, there is currently no clear consensus on whether XRP is considered a security.

In addition, the court rejected Ripple's defense of "essentiality," which argues that a physical contract must exist in order for it to be considered an investment contract. The judge wrote in the ruling, "In each case where the defendant offers or sells XRP as an investment contract, a contract exists."