The crypto world has been waiting for the nature of XRP to be determined since the SEC filed a case against Ripple Labs and its executive in December 2020. Ripple is accused of breaking securities regulations by neglecting to register XRP sales with the regulatory body.
Ripple’s lawyers have argued that the selling of XRP complied with the law and was not fundamentally different from the sale of ETH by Ethereum blockchain operators.
The issue revolves around William Hinman’s [former director of the SEC’s division of corporate finance] lecture from 2018, in which he argued that Ethereum isn’t secure. The defendants have repeatedly sought the Commission to draw a line between Ripple’s XRP and Ethereum’s ETH, using the same rhetoric in their stride. The remarks was also declared “highly significant” to the case by the judge.
SEC vs. Ripple: A Difference of Opinion
On Tuesday, a court hearing was convened to assess whether or not papers linked to the Hinman speech should be produced. Judge Netburn reminded the SEC that his remarks were his personal opinions, not the SEC’s, and asked if they still stood by that position today.
According to CryptoLawUS’ discussion of the hearing,
In its response, the SEC does not respond to Judge Netburn’s inquiry, but does state that “he nevertheless sought legal assistance on the legal issues he encountered in that speech,” even if it was his own views.
In addition, the thread noted,
Netburn seems to be implying that the SEC’s reasons are unreasonable, citing a “tension” in the agency’s position and reasoning.
People who had tuned in to hear the hearing also said that the SEC attorney had no idea what was going on. In a humiliating move, the SEC maintained that the remarks had no bearing on the case.
The SEC attorney sounded like she has no idea what she was arguing. That was a complete embarrassment.
— mickle.xrp ✪ (@MarketsMickle) June 7, 2022
It is baffling that the SEC has allowed the charade to continue this far. #xrp #ripple
Ripple claimed that the SEC was changing its mind about Hinman’s speech being his personal opinions to fit their own interests in this case. CryptoLawUS has brought to light the following:
“Individuals have been sued here, and their reputations are at peril,” Solomon tells the court, a little irritably. “They WERE his personal beliefs,” he says, stating the facts. That was something he said under oath. They didn’t ‘turn out’ to be his personal opinions. IT WAS THEY.”
Judge Netburn adjourned the session after both sides had presented their cases. She expressed gratitude for the parties’ participation and stated that she would analyze all of the materials, adding,
“I’ll make my decision as soon as I’m able.”
Reactions in the Community
At this point, the case appears to be a one-man show, with Hinman as the star. Judge Netburn’s decision will prove to be a watershed moment, and community members believe Ripple will easily score a point.
After pointing out that the SEC lawyer was stuttering, one listener went on to say that Ripple is going to have a “easy W.”
SEC Lawyer was stuttering like crazy… easy W for @ripple 🤙
— DustyBC Crypto (@TheDustyBC) June 7, 2022
