The legal battle between Ripple and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken a new turn as top lawyers accuse former SEC director William Hinman of being paid to attack XRP in favor of Ethereum (ETH).
After releasing Hinman’s emails and drafts of his June 2018 speech, pro-XRP attorney John Deaton has expressed his frustration with the intent of the declassified documents on a recent live CryptoLaw podcast.
Payments to discredit XRP in favor of Ethereum?
Jeremy Hogan, attorney and cryptocurrency expert, also weighed in on the matter, claiming that former SEC Director of Corporate Finance Bill Hinman was paid to give a speech declaring that Ethereum was not a security.
According to Hogan, Ripple, a leading cryptocurrency company, has suggested that Hinman was paid by the Ethereum Foundation or someone related to Ethereum to give the speech and give Ethereum a free pass.
Hogan’s claims are based on email exchanges between Hinman and his colleagues, which allegedly reveal that Hinman had already dubbed his first email “the Ether speech” before he began crafting the speech.
This, according to Hogan, suggests that “right from the start” Hinman is saying that ETH is not security, and that was the point where he made the speech.
Hinman’s speech, delivered in 2018, was seen by many in the cryptocurrency industry as a milestone in which the SEC effectively declared Ethereum not a security.
This was seen as a major win for Ethereum and the broader cryptocurrency industry as it provided clarity on how the SEC would regulate cryptocurrencies.
However, Hogan has suggested that the speech was not only a free pass for Ethereum, but also an attack on XRP, which was Ethereum’s biggest competition at the time. Hogan’s claims are based on Ripple’s ongoing legal battle with the SEC, in which Ripple has argued that XRP is not a security and should not be regulated as such.
Hogan’s allegations are likely to fuel speculation about the relationship between the SEC and the cryptocurrency industry, and the extent to which the SEC’s decisions are influenced by external factors. However, it’s important to note that Hogan’s claims are based on speculation and are unproven.
Currently, the value of XRP is at $0.4731, indicating a marginal recovery of 0.6% over the past day. This comes after a dip to $0.4564 on Wednesday. Despite the recent drop, XRP enthusiasts remain optimistic and look forward to a positive outcome that could potentially propel the cryptocurrency’s price to a new yearly high, surpassing $0.5833 in May.
This could put XRP, the sixth largest cryptocurrency in the market, in a favorable position to reach the $1 milestone.
Featured image of Unsplash, chart from TradingView.com