Blockchain payments startup Ripple Labs has edged closer to a victory in the ongoing courtroom battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Ripple general counsel Stuart Alderoty has just confirmed that the securities watchdog has complied with the court’s order to turn over a veritable trove of emails and other correspondence authored by former SEC Corporation Finance Division Director William Hinman related to a speech where he declared Ethereum (ETH) was not a security.
“Well Worth The Fight”
Ripple general counsel Stuart Alderoty took to Twitter on October 21 to announce that the long-sought Hinman documents are finally in their hands after “over 18 months and 6 court orders”.
He noted that the documents are internal SEC emails and drafts of William Hinman’s speech, which he delivered at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit in June 2018. Stuart, however, clarified that the documents are still sealed from the public at the SEC’s insistence.
“It was well worth the fight to get them,” Stuart asserted, adding: “I’ve always felt good about our legal arguments, and I feel even better now. I always felt bad about the SEC’s tactics, and I feel even worse about them now.”
The Truth Will Be Shocking And Shameful For SEC, Ripple CEO says
Hinman’s correspondence is pivotal to the complaint that the SEC lodged against Ripple in December 2020, alleging that the payments firm and its current and former chief executives, Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen, sold the XRP token as an unregistered security.
Last month, a U.S. District Court judge quashed the SEC’s repeated attempts to keep the Hinman speech under wraps and prevent it from being used as evidence in the case. Ripple fans and other industry observers felt the documents would considerably bolster the company’s defense.
Ripple boss Brad Garlinghouse blasted the SEC in a tweet while responding to the announcement from Stuart. Garlinghouse told his followers not to believe the agency when it claims to care about “disclosure, transparency, and clarity.”
“When the truth eventually comes out, the shamefulness of their behavior here will shock you,” he summarized.
Both the SEC and Ripple recently called for an immediate ruling on the lawsuit based on available evidence — without taking the case to trial. The push to end the long-standing case saw the price of XRP jump by over 40%.
Just last week, the court granted amicus requests from two reputable firms to join the case and offer opinions on certain legal questions in the lawsuit.
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