In a major failure for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), U.S. District Court Judge Analisa Torres denied a request to withhold documents related to former Divisional Director William Hinman.
The documents include emails and sketches of a speech Hinman gave at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit in June 2018, in which he also stated that Ethereum (ETH), the native token of the Ethereum blockchain, is not a security.
SEC Was Trying To Hide Hinman Documents From Ripple
The SEC was trying to keep the Hinman documents secret from Ripple Labs, which it sued in December 2020 for allegedly selling XRP as an unregistered security. Ripple Labs sees the Hinman speech as important evidence to prove that the SEC does not provide clear guidance on the status of cryptocurrencies and that XRP should not be treated differently from Ethereum.
The SEC had claimed that the Hinman documents were protected by discussion process confidentiality and attorney-client privilege, but Judge Torres dismissed these claims, following previous rulings by District Court Judge Sarah Netburn.
The decision is a significant victory for Ripple Labs, which has been in a legal battle with the SEC for almost two years. The lawsuit is one of the most high-profile and potentially precedent-setting cases in the crypto industry, as it could determine whether XRP and other similar cryptocurrencies are securities under US law.
*Not investment advice.