Ripple lawsuit: XRP holders throw confetti as Hinman documents…

Ripple, the firm behind XRP, is finally in possession of the infamous Hinman documents. The Securities and Exchange Commission handed over the internal emails and drafts related to William Hinman following a court order. 

 SEC’s nightmare comes true

On 29 September, U.S. District Court Judge Analisa Torres ordered the SEC to hand over the documents in question. This was a huge victory for Ripple at the time.

The SEC had objected to the release of the Hinman documents earlier, citing privilege. The documents contain papers, internal emails, and memos related to a speech delivered at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit in June 2018, by William Hinman, the then-director of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance.

Hinman had stated in the speech that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum were “sufficiently decentralized” and thus not a security. Ripple believes that the SEC is engaged in favoritism and the documents will play a crucial role in the ongoing lawsuit. 

Ripple executives react to the development

News of the document handover was shared by Ripple general counsel Stuart Alderoty. 

“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.” he said. 

Alderoty added that he is feeling even better about Ripple’s position in the case. 

After going through the Hinman documents, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse described the SEC’s conduct during the case as shameful and shocking. 

“The SEC wants you to think that it cares about disclosure, transparency, and clarity. Don’t believe them.” Garlinghouse added.

Meanwhile, Phillip Goldstein and the Investor Choice Advocates Network (ICAN) have become the latest firms to file an amicus brief in the lawsuit, to support Ripple’s arguments.

They joined a long list of companies including I-Remit and Chamber of Digital Commerce that have rallied behind Ripple. 

That said, at the time of writing, XRP was trading at $0.43, down 4.10% over the past 24 hours.