Ripple Vs SEC Case: Judge Says That US Regulators Hypocrite, Victory For XRP?

JAKARTA – The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) feud with Ripple (XRP) has been going on for more than a year. Recent information states that Judge Sarah Netburn rejected the SEC's dodgy appeal and covered up a speech by former SEC official William Hinman.

Previously, the trial judge had approved Ripple asking the SEC to disclose the contents of William Hinman's speech which stated that XRP was a security.

Because of the SEC's stance, the court considered the SEC's cover-up and protection of Hinman's speech as a form of "hypocrisy." This was conveyed by a judge on July 12, 2022, in which Judge Netburn dismissed the SEC's appeal.

“This argument was previously raised on a secondary basis, with the SEC notably asserting the privilege of deliberative proceedings. SEC motion REJECTED," said judge Sarah Netburn. In addition, the Netburn judge also ordered SEC documents that "must be shown."

For information, in June 2018, at the Yahoo Market Summit, William Hinman, who was then Director of the Corporate Finance Division at the SEC, stated that Ethereum is not a security.

Although at the time of its ICO, the ETH category had changed from securities to non-securities. Meanwhile, Ripple is accused of selling XRP as an unregistered security.

In the SEC–Ripple case, the US regulator accused a number of high-ranking Ripple officials including founders Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen of assisting the sale of securities deemed unlawful.

On the other hand, Ripple rejects the SEC's categorization of the XRP coin. Ripple denies XRP is not a security as the SEC claims.

Given the importance of the issue, one of the main keys to finding light on the case is the content of Hinman's speech. However, the SEC continued to refuse to disclose the entire contents of the former SEC official's speech. This case was slow and took more than a year.

The SEC called Hinman's speech private. At the same time, the US regulator protects it from being exposed in court.

“The hypocrisy in arguing in Court, on the one hand, that the Speech is irrelevant to the market understanding of how or whether the SEC will regulate cryptocurrencies, and on the other, that Hinman sought and obtained legal advice from SEC counsel in drafting his speech, suggests that the SEC adopted its litigation position to achieve its intended purpose, and not out of proper allegiance to the law," Judge Netburn said.

Ripple's lawyers also commented on the condition by stating that the judge had destroyed the SEC's argument. On the other hand, Ripple has previously stated its intention to leave the US if it loses its feud with the SEC in court.