The price of XRP rose after a U.S. federal judge Thursday overruled the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) objections to orders that asked the securities watchdog to disclose drafts of a 2018 speech made by former agency director William Hinman, in its lawsuit against Ripple Labs Inc.
See related article: SEC files brief on Hinman speech as XRP lawsuit drags on
Fast facts
- In an order on Thursday, Judge Analisa Torres overruled the SEC’s objections, directing the agency to comply with the previous orders.
- XRP rose 12.6% in the past 24 hours to US$0.4932 at 3:45 p.m. Hong Kong time, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
- In a bid to withhold the documents related to the Hinman speech, the SEC argued that the speech documents are “predecisional” as they reflect personal opinions from SEC staff rather than the policy of the agency.
- The latest order comes after the SEC on July 27 filed objections to Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn’s previous orders compelling the SEC to disclose internal Hinman speech drafts.
- In December 2020, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple alleging that its sale of XRP — the native token of XRP Ledger which powers Ripple’s payment network — constituted an offering of unregistered securities worth over US$1.38 billion.
- The SEC also named Ripple’s executive chairman Chris Larsen and chief executive officer (CEO) Brad Garlinghouse as co-defendants for allegedly aiding and abetting Ripple’s moves.
- Hinman’s speech — in which he argued that Bitcoin and Ethereum’s Ether were not to be considered securities — has been a major point of argument between the SEC and Ripple as Ripple seeks to bolster its fair notice defense.
See related article: SEC, Ripple seek summary judgment in attempt to speed up XRP lawsuit