The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York set February 22, 2021 as the date for the trial of the lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission against Ripple Labs and its principal actors.
According to a court document filed on Tuesday, the lawyer representing all parties to the matter will hold a pre-trial conference call. As part of preparations for the preliminary hearing, the parties to the case will submit a joint letter one week before the pre-trial date addressing:
“(1) a brief description of the case, including the factual and legal basis for the complaint (s) and defense (s), (2) any motions contemplated and (3) the prospect of settlement.”
In early December, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple, accusing the blockchain company of selling XRP tokens in violation of the securities law. The legal status of XRP as a commodity or a title has been the subject of debate within and outside the cryptographic space.
Several cryptocurrency exchanges reacted to the process by suspending XRP trading or removing the token from their platforms. Investment firms like Bitwise Asset Management also liquidated their holdings in XRP after the SEC’s action.
As previously reported by Cointelegraph, Ripple’s partner MoneyGram has distanced itself from the company, saying it does not use RippleNet. The XRP price also dropped significantly, falling more than 65% in December.
In a statement released earlier in the week, Ripple accused the SEC of harming XRP token holders. Ripple also stated its intention to respond to the Commission’s complaints against the company.