Next Key Deadline to Watch in Crypto Legal Battle

The legal battle between Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is heating up as both parties prepare for the next key deadline in the case.

As Ripple and the SEC enter the “remedies” phase of the case focusing on institutional sales, the upcoming deadline in the case would be Feb. 20.

Ripple scored a landmark win in the lawsuit in July 2023; however, the Court determined that certain XRP institutional sales were investment contracts and hence should have been registered with the SEC.

It should be recalled that earlier in February, Ripple requested a one-week extension of the deadline for remedies-related discovery from Feb. 12 to Feb. 20, making this the next crucial deadline in the legal battle.

At this point, the discovery phase remains crucial, as it could reveal new information or arguments that could impact remedies.

In a throwback to events that preceded this key timeline, the SEC served nine interrogatories and three RFPs on Ripple on Nov. 14.

After the parties met and conferred on Dec. 21 and Jan. 3 to narrow the dispute, the SEC filed a motion on Jan. 11 to compel discovery of Ripple’s financial statements for the years 2022 and 2023, post-complaint written contracts governing XRP sales to institutional buyers, hedge funds and ODL customers, and the proceeds Ripple received for delivering XRP after the complaint was filed, but under written contracts entered into before.

On Feb. 5, Judge Netburn granted the SEC’s motion to compel in full. Following Judge Netburn’s decision, Ripple stated that it would disclose available financial statements and serve a response to the SEC’s interrogatory about post-complaint proceeds from pre-complaint contracts by the prior discovery deadline of Feb. 12, 2024.

Ripple, however, sought a brief extension until Feb. 20 to produce its contracts for the sale of XRP to institutional buyers, hedge funds and ODL customers from a rough three-year period before, citing the difficulty associated with trying to collect and produce those documents by the previous deadline.

Ripple did not request changes to any other deadlines in this case, with these remaining the same. Legal briefs are expected to be submitted in March and April of this year, and then the Court will decide which remedies to impose.

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Tomiwabold Olajide