Ripple Labs, the owners of the XRP coin, and the United States Securities Exchange Commission (U.S SEC) are scheduled to meet in February 2021. The meeting will be conducted over a video call. It will serve as the first of a series of pretrial conferences over the lawsuit between the two parties.
Both Parties to Meet at a Pretrial Conference
The announcement was recently made by the US District Court of the Southern District of New York in an official document here. The video conference is scheduled for Feb 22, 2021, and requires representation by the legal counsel of both parties. It was signed by United States district judge, Analisa Torres.
According to the document, both the SEC and Ripple have to submit some documentation a week earlier. This will include a joint letter that would explain their motions and arguments. The letter would also itemize how they intend to settle before their scheduled court hearing.
Meanwhile, in a statement released yesterday, Ripple calls the recent SEC lawsuit an attack on crypto in America. It accused America of “a lack of regulatory clarity” when it comes to crypto.
The crypto company also denies not being compliant, saying it has always followed the law. “There are clear rules of the road for using XRP in the UK, Japan, Switzerland, and Singapore, for example,” Ripple says. It also acknowledges that the ongoing legal battle has been felt by Ripple traders and holders alike. “It’s no surprise that some market participants are reacting conservatively as a result” Ripple laments.
$1.3B From Unregistered Securities?
Last week Wednesday, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple, accusing it of selling unregistered securities. In a 71 page document by the SEC, both Brad Garlinghouse and Christian Larsen we’re accused of selling XRP as a non-security.
The SEC insists that XRP is a security, and should be registered under it as such. The commission went a step further to accuse both Garlinghouse and Larsen of security fraud, running into $600 million. Both men have denied the accusations, and have agreed to iron out this misunderstanding in court.
Recently crypto exchange Bitwise delisted Ripple XRP token, citing Ripple’s case with the U.S. SEC as the reason for its decision.
