R3, the ‘Blockchain-inspired’ startup servicing banks and financial institutions, has filed a lawsuit against competitor Ripple. R3 maintains that Ripple Labs has violated a prior purchase agreement for XRP tokens between the two companies.
According to the lawsuit, Ripple and R3 had earlier entered into an agreement for R3 to be able to buy up to 5 bln XRP tokens at a price of $0.0085 each. The agreement indicated that the purchase could be completed in whole or in part through the end of 2019.
The lawsuit stipulates that Ripple CEO Garlinghouse attempted to cancel the purchase contract via an email to R3 CEO Rutter in June of this year. R3 maintains that Ripple had not right to cancel the contract unilaterally.
The price of Ripple has skyrocketed in recent months, rising to near $0.22 each at press time. This would make the purchase option worth over $1 bln. The lawsuit expresses R3’s desire to be able to purchase the tokens in whole or in part at anytime through the end of 2019.
R3 recently made news when, after spending $59 million on Blockchain analysis, concluded publically that they did not ‘need Blockchain.’ Banks such as JP Morgan Chase have been departing R3 to pursue in-house Blockchain options.