In the ongoing legal battle between Ripple and the SEC, Ripple has achieved a small victory by successfully opposing the SEC’s motion to seal the “Hinman Speech documents.” These internal files consist of SEC drafts and emails related to a speech given by William Hinman, former Director of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, over four years ago. The speech is significant as it reportedly indicated that the SEC did not consider ether as a security at that time, which Ripple believes could impact the classification of XRP.
The SEC had sought to keep these documents confidential, arguing their lack of relevance to the summary judgment motions and potential disclosure could harm the agency’s interests. However, Judge Analisa Torres disagreed and emphasized that the documents are judicial documents subject to a strong presumption of public access, regardless of their admissibility or reliance in the court’s ruling.
Another win for transparency! Unredacted Hinman emails to be publicly available soon – stay tuned as the lawyers work through the mechanics to make that happen. https://t.co/o6puPypRHd https://t.co/qmaLVeQaP8
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) May 16, 2023
While partial redactions will remain to protect the welfare of certain individuals, public access to the Hinman Speech documents has been granted. This decision has led to an 8% rally for XRP.
Furthermore, Ripple’s motion to seal certain information regarding its business activities was also denied. References linking Ripple’s revenues with XRP sales, the amount of compensation offered by Ripple to trading platforms to list XRP, and details about XRP sales targeted at investors through programmatic and institutional sales will be accessible to the public. Ripple has regularly released quarterly reports detailing its XRP activity, which involves significant amounts of XRP bought and sold.
The determination of the case via summary judgment is expected later this year, although the exact timeline remains unclear. Investors and industry observers are eagerly awaiting the release of the unsealed Hinman documents to gain further insights into the case.
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Please note that the information provided is a summary and should not be considered as legal or financial advice.