The Ripple Labs lawsuit is well underway. Currently in the pre-trial phase, the parties are sorting out what can and can’t be admitted to trial. This phase could go on for several months. In August, the trial proper will begin, assuming the parties don’t reach a pre-trial settlement before that time.
There is much at stake in this lawsuit. Ripple Labs is currently working on a payments system called RippleNet that allows vendors to accept payments in seconds. If this project succeeds then XRP will likely see gains, as the legitimate buying and selling on Ripple’s network will drive demand for the token. If Ripple wins the lawsuit then it will be able to continue as normal and work on exciting projects like RippleNet. If it doesn’t, then its projects may suffer and investors may lose faith in XRP.
It all depends on what happens in the legal actions Ripple Labs is involved in. There are three key dates this year that will determine whether Ripple prevails, or whether the SEC pulls off an upset.
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April
April is potentially an important date for the Ripple lawsuit. There is no specific date here, but it is the month when one legal commentator speculated that the suit may be settled. Recently, lawyer Jeremy Hogan took to Twitter to say that a settlement could be reached by “April or May.” While he made clear that this was only his “best guess,” he may have known something. If he did, then we could see the XRP lawsuit settled as early as next month.
August 26
August 26 is when the Ripple lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial assuming no settlement can be reached before that date. Before a trial can even begin, all discovery and other pre-trial business must be concluded. By August 26 we should know:
- What’s allowed in court
- What isn’t allowed in court
- Which experts will be brought to testify
- And more
A lot of information relevant to how the Ripple lawsuit will turn out will be revealed before the case even goes to trial. If it does go to trial, then it is likely to conclude within a few weeks to a few months of the August 26 start date.
November 18
November 18 is the date by which Ripple Labs’ lawyers are expecting the trial to end. By this date each side’s lawyers will have had the opportunity to make their cases, cross examine witnesses, and reveal evidence supporting their case. If all goes well, Ripple’s victory will be apparent before this date, due to decisions made by the judge prior to the final decision.
Foolish takeaway
The Ripple lawsuit has been a wild ride for everyone involved. With $1.3 billion and crypto-regulating legal precedents up in the air, a lot is riding on this. If Ripple wins, then the entire crypto market will breathe a sigh of relief. If it loses, then cryptocurrency will be much more regulated going forward than it is today.
