A former executive at Ripple believes that despite the odds tilting in the blockchain payments firm’s favor, the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) could still win the legal battle. This comes after Judge Analisa Torres ruled that William Hinman’s documents are “judicial documents” subject to a strong presumption of public access and denied the SEC’s motion to keep them hidden.
Why The SEC Could Win
Recent developments in the XRP lawsuit have made investors and observers confident of Ripple’s victory over SEC.
Ripple has been tied up in a lawsuit with the SEC for over two years after the regulator accused the firm of illegally selling XRP — the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, with a total market cap of over $23 billion as of Monday — without registering it as a security.
The former Director of Developer Relations at Ripple, Matt Hamilton, remarked that the potential unsealing of the Hinman docs for public access could tip the balance. Hamilton noted that the whole situation “looks pretty bad” for the SEC’s case against Ripple.
However, the ex-Ripple official believes the outcome of the lawsuit might not align with many people’s expectations because of the complexities of the U.S. regulatory and legal system. Hamilton stressed that Ripple might still be right, but there’s a chance the SEC could emerge victorious.
The Hinman documents pertain to a controversial speech given in June 2018 by the former director of the SEC’s corporation finance division William Hinman. During the speech, Hinman declared that Ether is not a security. These docs contain the SEC’s internal discussions and deliberations encompassing the speech in question.
Could The Lawsuit Finally Be Reaching Its Conclusion?
While it’s still too early to tell what the ultimate outcome of the case will be, recent findings in court filings cast doubt on whether XRP passes the infamous Howey Test. This means the unsealing of the Hinman emails could have a major legal impact on Ripple and its long-standing dispute with the SEC.
As the case unfolds, well-known pro-crypto attorney Fred Rispoli suggested that the summary judgment verdict is already written and could be given “any day now”. Rispoli thinks an outright win for either Ripple or the SEC remains low, but the Hinman emails ruling’s tone appears favourable to the crypto firm.
Echoing Rispoli’s opinion, XRP holders’ representative John Deaton said during a recent Twitter Space that a pivotal court decision in the XRP suit could come down at any time, but he added that it could take another month or longer.
That being said, if the presiding judge does decide that XRP qualifies as a security, the scope could go beyond XRP to other crypto assets, as it would further establish a precedent for future rulings over other tokens.
