- Documents related to former SEC director William Hinman’s views on cryptocurrency have been released in connection with the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple Labs.
- The released documents could ignite a significant debate about the classification of cryptocurrencies as securities.
In a recent development in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) lawsuit against Ripple Labs, documents related to William Hinman, the former director of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, have been made public. These documents reveal the Trading and Markets Department’s comments on Hinman’s 2018 speech draft, where he suggested that Bitcoin and Ether were not securities.
Hinman, in an email to multiple SEC employees, stated that Ether, as it was currently offered, did not need to be regulated as a security. The Trading and Markets Department expressed support for Hinman’s speech, noting that it addressed public demands for clarity from the SEC. However, they also cautioned that a strong stance on Bitcoin could hamper the SEC’s efforts towards regulating other cryptocurrencies that are indeed securities.
The SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple Labs, initiated in December 2020, accused the company of raising over $1.3 billion through an unregistered digital asset securities offering with its cryptocurrency, XRP. Hinman’s views, particularly regarding Ether, have been frequently cited by Ripple Labs in the ongoing legal proceedings, as they contradict the SEC’s claim that XRP is a security.
The release of these documents could potentially spark a significant debate about the classification of cryptocurrencies as securities. This comes at a time when the SEC has filed lawsuits against crypto exchanges Coinbase and Binance, accusing them of selling unregistered securities.
More on Ripple Labs:
- Ripple Responds to SEC Lawsuit: “XRP is not a Security”, XRP Surges Over 35%
- XRP Tanks After Ripple’s Newest Attack On the SEC Case
