The deposition of former Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC] Director of Corporate Finance, William Hinman has been postponed to 27 July 2021. The same was earlier scheduled to take place on Monday but both parties, that is, Ripple and the SEC, plan to conduct an additional meet in the next few days, to zero-in on the issues relating to Hinman’s deposition.
According to a letter sent to U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn, Ripple and SEC agreed to postpone the said testimony after making “substantial progress in narrowing and resolving the privilege issues.” Attorney James K. Filan provided the letter that the parties submitted to the Court, and noted,
#XRPCommunity #SEC_News v. #Ripple #XRP Hinman deposition postponed to July 27, 2021. The parties have made "substantial progress in narrowing and resolving the privilege issues" and will continue to confer. Parties will report to Court on their progress on Monday by 5 p.m. pic.twitter.com/orlpXGnkTM
— James K. Filan ???? (@FilanLaw) July 16, 2021
As per the said document,
“At your direction, the parties met and conferred this morning on the privilege issues that arose during yesterday’s hearing on the motion to quash the deposition of William Hinman. Based on this morning’s discussions, we have agreed to adjourn the July 19, 2021 deposition of Mr. Hinman, and have rescheduled the deposition for July 27, 2021.”
Ripple and the SEC will have to get back to the court by 5.00 pm on Monday to notify them about the status of their discussions and look into whether further judicial intervention was necessary. Hinman’s testimony was originally scheduled for 30th June, but the SEC tried to quash it, claiming Ripple failed to establish the “exceptional circumstances” needed to justify the deposition of a high-ranking government official.
However, Ripple argued against it and noted that his testimony will provide a “critical window into the agency’s communications with important third parties about the regulatory status of cryptocurrencies.”
Ripple hopes for the testimony to shed light on the regulatory body’s stance on Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP, and to strengthen its defense of not having received a “fair notice” regarding SEC treating XRP differently from other cryptos. Hinman plays an important role in this narrative due to his speech in 2018 where he suggested that the SEC did not regard Bitcoin and Ether as securities.
As the two concerned parties deliberated over these issues, XRP holders were eagerly waiting for Hinman’s testimony. Meanwhile, the value of the digital asset has remained lower, at $0.5835, at press time.
