The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has handed over internal documents to Ripple Labs Inc. containing comments by former SEC Corporation Finance Division director William Hinman on cryptocurrencies, Ripple’s general counsel Stuart Alderoty said on his verified Twitter handle on Friday.
See related article: SEC, Ripple seek summary judgment in attempt to speed up XRP lawsuit
Fast facts
- This follows the Sept. 29 U.S. district court ruling requiring the SEC to give the documents to Ripple Labs. The document includes internal SEC emails and drafts of Hinman’s speech at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit in June 2018.
- “Over 18 months and 6 court orders later, we finally have the Hinman docs (internal SEC emails and drafts of his infamous 2018 speech). While they remain confidential for now (at the SEC’s insistence), I can say that it was well worth the fight to get them,” wrote Alderoty on Twitter.
- Hinman’s speech includes the division director’s statement saying that Ether is not a security.
- This development could become a significant milestone in the legal battle between Ripple and the U.S. securities regulator. The SEC filed its 2020 lawsuit against Ripple Labs accusing the company of using its XRP token as an unregistered security to raise funds.
- The outcome of the suit could set a precedent for classifying cryptocurrencies under U.S. financial regulations.
- XRP traded around US$0.45 on Friday morning in Asia, compared to US$1.09 a year ago, according to CoinMarketCap.
See related article: Ripple slams SEC’s opposition to brief motions in XRP lawsuit