Ripple to Confront US SEC in February 2021
As per the court order from the US District Court of New York, both the parties have been asked to submit a joint statement with the case’s legal arguments, potential motions and likelihood of settlements.
The battle is just getting started for Ripple as the blockchain startup is to confront the US SEC earlier next year in February 2021. The confrontation will happen after the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple last week on charges of selling unregistered XRP securities.
As per the recent court order from the US District Court of New York, Ripple and SEC will meet over a video call. As per the order, both the parties have to submit a joint statement concerning the case’s arguments and legal bases. The statement shall also include other potential motions and the likelihood of case settlement.
The pretrial conference markets the beginning of the trial between the two parties. Although the SEC has dragged several Ethereum token issues to the court in the past, this is for the first time it is taking on a digital asset issuer.
The hostility between the SEC and Ripple started more than a month ago. Previously, Ripple has accused the SEC of stifling innovation and even hinted at moving its base out of the US. Earlier Ripple noted that the regulatory hurdles in the U.S. don’t provide a conducive environment for crypto firms.
In a recently released statement, Ripple said that it shall file a response in a few weeks to address the unproven SEC allegations. The statement reads:
“The SEC’s decision to file this action is not just about Ripple, it is an attack on the entire crypto industry here in the United States. We’ve always said that there is a dangerous lack of regulatory clarity for crypto in the U.S. – their lawsuit has already affected countless innocent XRP retail holders with no connection to Ripple”.
Crypto Exchange Start Suspending XRP Trading after SEC Lawsuit against Ripple
Following the SEC lawsuit, several crypto exchanges started distancing themselves from Ripple. Starting January 2021 some of the big exchanges like BitStamp and Coinbase will start suspending XRP trading on their platform. In an interesting turn of events, Coinbase has also been sued fr selling the alleged XRP security token.
A Coinbase customer has filed this complaint in the Federal Court of California. The customer is seeking to recover the commission paid to the exchange for XRP sales.
Following the SEC lawsuit, there has been a spree of exchanges announcing XRP suspension and delisting. The latest to join the fray is popular exchange Binance. In an announcement a few hours back, Binance said that it will suspend and delist XRP trading and deposits effective January 13. Two other exchanges Genesis and Bittrex have arrived at a similar decision. Ripple has accused the SEC of all that’s happening.
Ripple said that the SEC has “needlessly muddied the waters for exchanges, market makers and traders. The SEC has introduced more uncertainty into the market, actively harming the community they’re supposed to protect. It’s no surprise that some market participants are reacting conservatively as a result”.
