US Court Denies SEC’s Motion to Seal Hinman Speech Documents; Ripple Community Celebrates as XRP Price Soars 4.3%
In a significant development for Ripple and the crypto industry, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been denied its motion to seal the controversial Hinman Speech documents. The motion, filed on December 22, 2022, argued that the documents were irrelevant to the court’s summary judgment decision and that the SEC’s mission outweighed the public’s right to access them.
However, Judge Analisa Torres of the US District Court ruled that the documents should be treated as “judicial documents” and upheld the strong presumption of public access. Judge Torres stated that the Hinman Speech documents could reasonably influence the court’s ruling on the motion.
#XRPCommunity #XRP #SECGov v. #Ripple BREAKING: Judge Torres denies the SEC’s Motion to Seal the Hinman documents.https://t.co/wiatz4vCHL
— James K. Filan 🇺🇸🇮🇪 (@FilanLaw) May 16, 2023
Furthermore, the court rejected the SEC’s argument that sealing the documents was necessary to preserve openness and candor within the SEC. Judge Torres clarified that the documents were not protected by the deliberative process privilege, as they did not pertain to an agency position, decision, or policy.
Following the news of the denial to seal the documents, the price of XRP experienced a notable spike, rising approximately 4.3%. Currently, XRP is trading at $0.446.
While the court ruled in favor of making the Hinman Speech documents public, it did grant two requests from the SEC to redact certain information. These included the names and identifying details of SEC experts and XRP investor declarants, as well as personal and financial information of the defendants.
On the other hand, the court denied several motions from Ripple to seal certain aspects, such as references connecting Ripple’s revenues to XRP sales and details regarding compensation offered to trading platforms.
The Hinman Speech documents refer to a speech delivered by William Hinman, the former Director of the SEC’s Corporation Finance Division, at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit in June 2018. In the speech, Hinman reportedly stated that Ethereum (ETH) was not a security.
Ripple has considered the Hinman Speech a crucial piece of evidence in its ongoing legal battle with the SEC. The SEC has accused Ripple of violating US securities laws through the sale of its XRP cryptocurrency.
The ruling to make the Hinman Speech documents public marks a significant win for Ripple and the broader crypto community, as it allows for greater transparency and access to information pertinent to the case. The outcome of this legal battle between Ripple and the SEC could have far-reaching implications for the regulation and future of cryptocurrencies in the United States.
Read more:
- Ripple Reports Strong Q1 2023 With Total XRP Sales Of $361.06 Million
- Ripple – SEC Lawsuit’s Results Showed A Shift In The Sentiment Of This Class Of Investors Toward XRP
- Ripple Will Spend $200 Million Defending SEC Lawsuit