SEATTLE, United States – In the ongoing battle between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Ripple Labs, Willian Hinman’s name is very prominent. You might wonder why that is. He plays an important role in resolving the case as part of strong evidence of XRP is what he said way back in 2018.
William Hinman is a former director of the Securities and Exchange Commission. His controversial speech included a statement saying that Ethereum is not a security. If this is the case, XRP should also be treated the same way as Ethereum. However, if this concept is to push through, then the lawsuit that the SEC filed against Ripple will have no bearing.
Ripple Labs and its executives, Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen, hold this strong piece of evidence to win the case. When their attorney, James Filan, requested access to these documents or speech by Hinman, the SEC petitioned an “attorney-client privilege.” Many believe that this evidence is crucial to resolve, but with all the technicalities in play, it will be hard to get a hold of.
The SEC is also careful about Hinman’s stand on this case. A whistleblower, Empower Oversight, stated that Hinman had about 200 emails with conflict-of-interest issues. One of those emails contained the fact that Hinman met with the executives of Ethereum before giving out his speech about it not being a security.
Furthermore, Hinman had warned not to meet with anyone from a firm named Simpson Thacher, which is dedicated to encouraging the commercial use of ETH. This warning was not regarded by Hinman and continued with his meeting with the ETH execs.
If the court can publicize those documents, then XRP will have a high chance of winning this lawsuit, setting the ground for all other cryptocurrencies in the industry.
