Investors can buy tokens in class action lawsuits and get a payout if the defendant wins through Ryval.
Filing a lawsuit against a major corporation or entity is cost prohibitive for most Americans due to court and lawyer costs, but new tech startup Ryval has an innovative solution to that problem.
The company allows investors to purchase and trade crypto tokens associated with civil lawsuits.
“What we do is tell the story, vet the legal claim, and then allow the public to invest and give you the funds to go and litigate your case,” Kyle Roche, a trial lawyer and one of Ryval’s co-founders told Vice.
“And what does the public get in return? The public gets an interest in the outcome of your suit.”
The company calls the sale of tokens an “initial litigation offering” and Roche calls Ryval the Robinhood of litigation.
Ryval will use the Avalanche blockchain to allow investors, regardless of accreditation status, to purchase tokens associated with a specific case. Those investors can then hold or trade them on the open market.
“Let’s say, the plaintiff gets a big ruling from the court—not a win, but a big ruling. The price may go up,” Roche said.
The investor holding the token at the time of a settlement or verdict cashes in on their bet.
Until Ryval came along, only accredited investors (wealthy investors who trade securities that aren’t registered with financial regulators) were allowed to invest in litigation funding.
“Buy and sell tokens that represent shares in a litigation and access a multi-billion dollar investment class previously unavailable to the public,” the company’s website says.
