Pretrial for SEC vs Ripple case has been set for February 22, 2021

A pretrial conference on the SEC vs Ripple case has been set for Feb 22, 2021. The pretrial is a conference prior to the actual trial ordered by the court to discuss the issues of the case.
The U.S. district couth of New York Southern will facilitate the meeting telephonically in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The SEC and Ripple have been directed to submit a joint letter by Feb 15, addressing: (1) Brief description of the case, including the factual and legal bases for the claims and defense, (2) Any contemplated motion, and (3) The prospect of the settlement.

At the conference, the judge and the lawyers can review the evidence and clarify the issues in dispute. If the case is not settled, the court will set a date for the trial. The lawyers usually appear at this hearing before a judge without their clients and try to agree on undisputed facts or points of law.

SEC allegations and after effects:

The SEC sued Ripple and two of its executives for engaging in illegal security offering from 2013 to the present, even though Ripple received legal advice as early as 2012 that under certain circumstances XRP could be considered an “investment contract” and therefore a security.

Meanwhile, Ripple recently issued a statement saying “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”.

In light of the SEC’s recent complaint against Ripple, various market makers and exchanges like OKCoin, Bitstamp, and recently Coinbase and Bittrex have announced the suspension of XRP trading support. Investment firms like Bitwise Asset Management have also liquidated their XRP holdings in the wake of the SEC lawsuit against Ripple.