A  federal judge has denied the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) attempt to appeal its loss against Ripple (CRYPTO: XRP).

The news had an immediate impact on XRP’s price, which surged 5% following the judge’s decision.

What Happened: District Judge Analisa Torres, in a brief ruling on Tuesday, stated that the SEC "failed to satisfy the legal burden under the law to show that there were controlling questions of law or that there are substantial grounds for differences of opinion."

Torres has set a trial date for April 2024 to address unresolved matters, which means the SEC could still consider re-appealing the overall case following this trial.

Notably, Judge Torres had previously ruled in July that although Ripple had violated federal securities laws by directly selling XRP to institutional investors, it had not contravened such laws by making XRP available to retail customers through programmatic sales to exchanges. 

In response to the July ruling, the SEC declared its intention to file an interlocutory appeal and requested a stay on any further decision-making while seeking an appellate court review of Judge Torres’ decision.

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Why It Matters: The outcome of this case brings both relief and optimism for Ripple as it continues to contest the SEC’s allegations. 

The SEC had accused Ripple of conducting an unregistered securities offering worth approximately $1.3 billion by selling XRP tokens. 

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Price Action: At the time of writing, XRP was trading at $0.53, according to Benzinga Pro.