Key Takeaways
- Hinman documents were finally revealed after 18 months of battle.
- Brad Garlinghouse accuses SEC of being shameful.
- The document does not implicate Ripple in any way, says Stuart Alderoty.
The high-profile legal battle between the SEC and Ripple labs for the long-sought Hinman documents is finally over.
A trove of emails and other documents revealing the Securities and Exchange Commission’s internal dialogue about Ethereum (and therefore XRP) not being a security was released to Ripple Labs.
Ripple Labs, the parent company of the cryptocurrency XRP in 2020, found themselves challenged by the SEC in court. In the following legal proceedings, the SEC maintained that XRP was illegally sold as unregistered security and violated several US securities laws.
Since 2020 until now, both parties have gone back and forth in what is now regarded as one of the biggest legal brawls in the history of crypto.
Finally, the general council to Ripple, Stuart Alderoty, broke the news about the 18-month struggle for the documents being over.
The Hinman Documents Released But No Effect On Ripple
Recall that in September, Judge Analisa Torres ordered the Securities and Exchange Commission to release the files, which the SEC had tried for months to keep out of the hands of Ripple Labs’ representatives.
According to Ripple, these documents are critical and could prove to be the weak link in the SEC’s case against Ripple(XRP). The documents may clarify why the Securities and Exchange Commission has decided to go after some cryptocurrencies on the market and call them unregistered securities and then completely ignore others.
According to a tweet from Stuart Alderoty, now that he’s seen the “top secret” documents, the 18-month legal battle to force the SEC to hand over the Hinman documents was well worth it.
Over 18 months and 6 court orders later, we finally have the Hinman docs (internal SEC emails and drafts of his infamous 2018 speech). While they remain confidential for now (at the SEC’s insistence), I can say that it was well worth the fight to get them.
— Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) October 20, 2022
What Really Is In The Documents?
The Hinman documents involve former SEC chairman William Hinman and details of an infamous speech he made back in 2018 about Ethereum not being a security. In this speech, Willian Hinman stated that Ethereum (and bitcoin) was not a security because it was sufficiently decentralized. By this, Ethereum is not in violation of any US Securities laws.
Hinman’s comments about decentralization in securities may play a key role in proving that the SEC’s case against Ripple is not justifiable by any means.
Ripple argues that if assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum do not qualify as securities if they are sufficiently decentralized, then the same should apply to assets like XRP and a host of the others the SEC continues to hound and persecute.
Recall that before this court order from Judge Torres, the SEC had been ordered to hand over the documents in January (an order they completely ignored).
When the struggle for the documents initially started, members of the cryptocurrency ecosystem assumed that releasing these documents was unlikely to do much to help Ripple’s case. However, Stuart Alderoty has clarified that these assumptions are completely wrong.
Ripple CEO Comments
Asides from Alderoty’s comments on the issue, Brad Garlinghouse has chipped in. Garlinghouse didn’t mince words in expressing his displeasure at the SEC.
In an earlier tweet, Garlinghouse mentions that the SEC’s past behavior is not about allegiance to the law but about power. He added that the SEC has no regard for the people and companies that their actions harm and that the commission has forgotten how the government works for the people.
In response to Alderoty’s announcement, Garlinghouse bashes the SEC in a tweet, describing their behavior as “shameful”.
Garlinghouse says that the SEC wants the public to believe they care about transparency and clarity. “Don’t believe them”, he says, “when the truth eventually comes out, the shamefulness of their behavior here will shock you”.
XRP Price In Charts
Over the last few weeks, the price action of XRP has reacted well to court proceedings relating to the struggle between the SEC and Ripple Labs. Particularly news concerning the Hinman Documents.
However, this recent development appears to be the exception.
Following the news of the Hinman Documents finally being released, the price of XRP has failed to react in either direction.
The crypto market expects XRP to either bounce off the ascending support it now tests around $0.44 or go through a breakdown and a dip to the $0.35 zone.
If the bulls on XRP fail to initiate this bounce, the bears may take the opportunity to lower the price of the cryptocurrency to the next lower support zone below $0.4.
However, if a bounce does happen, XRP may rise and hit the $0.55 zone before another bounce and possibly a breakout.
Disclaimer: The author’s comments and recommendations are solely for educational and informative purposes. They do not represent any financial or investment advice. Always DYOR  (do your own research)
