Ripple: Hinman documents “well worth the fight“ – Has Brad Garglinghouse and XRP already won?

• Yesterday, Ripple celebrated a partial victory against the SEC as it obtained internal documents related to the Hinman speech from 2018.

• According to Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse, SEC creates the false impression that it cares about disclosure, transparency, and clarity.

The 18 months-long legal battle between Ripple Labs and the US Securities and Exchange Commission is coming to an end with some legal experts predicting a victory for the company. 

Yesterday, Ripple gained a partial victory against SEC as general counsel Stuart Alderoty said that the company has obtained internal documents related to the Hinman speech from 2018. In the document, William Hinman, who was the Director of the Division of Corporation Finance at the SEC clarified that Bitcoin and Ethereum are not securities. It was a tough battle to finally get the court to order SEC to release the document as the Agency objected under the argument that Hinman’s position on the subject was not in line with that of the regulator. 

Alderoty disclosed that the document remains confidential for now, and is very positive about the impact it could have on the case.

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. I’ve always felt good about our legal arguments, and I feel even better now. I always felt bad about the SEC’s tactics, and I feel even worse about them now.

Jeremy Hogan provides expert insights on the Ripple and SEC case

Jeremy Hogan, an attorney in the XRP community, provided expert insights on the ongoing case. He explained that both parties filed under seal reply briefs to each other’s summary of the judgment with the court in their recent appearance. Even though this was expected to remain under seal to the general public, the financial technology company has already released the brief. According to Hogan, Ripple does not in any way argue against the Fair Notice Defense. However, it argues that it is an issue of fact and should go to Jury trial. He further explained that the attorneys of Ripple are referring to the case Revak v. SEC Realty Corp.

He wrote:

The briefs are scheduled to be made public next Monday, but last month the SEC ignored that deadline and filed its a day early. SO, be on the lookout anytime Sunday or Monday for those to drop. After that, there’s just one more brief on Nov. 15 and then we are basically DONE!

On SEC’s motion for summary judgment, Ripple argues that the burden is on them to prove that “no genuine factual dispute exists, and all reasonable inferences must be drawn in [Defendants’] favor.”

Ripple attorneys believe that the SEC failed to provide evidence for each element of its claims. For this reason, a summary of judgment should be denied. 

According to Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse, the SEC creates the false impression that it cares about disclosure, transparency, and clarity.

Don’t believe them. When the truth eventually comes out, the shamefulness of their behavior here will shock you.