The legal battle between Ripple and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken a new turn as top lawyers accuse former SEC head William Hinman of being paid to attack XRP in favor of Ethereum (ETH).
Following the release of Hinman’s emails and drafts of his June 2018 speech, pro-XRP attorney John Deaton voiced his frustration with the intent of the documents published on a recent CryptoLaw live podcast.
Payments to belittle XRP in favor of Ethereum?
Jeremy Hogan, a lawyer and cryptocurrency expert, also weighed in on the matter alleging that former SEC Director of Corporate Finance Bill Hinman was paid to give a speech in which he stated that Ethereum was not a security.
According to Hogan, Ripple, a leading cryptocurrency company, suggested that the Ethereum Foundation or someone related to Ethereum paid Hinman to give the speech and give him a free pass to Ethereum.
Hogan’s claims are based on email exchanges between Hinman and his colleagues, which reportedly show that Hinman had already called his first email “the Ether speech” before he began writing the speech.
This, according to Hogan, suggests that “from the beginning”, Hinman is saying that ETH is not a security, and that was the point of his speech.
Hinman’s speech, delivered in 2018, was seen by many in the cryptocurrency industry as a landmark moment in which the SEC effectively declared Ethereum not a security.
This was seen as a significant victory for Ethereum and the broader cryptocurrency industry, as it provided clarity on how the SEC would regulate cryptocurrencies.
However, Hogan has suggested that the speech was not only a free pass for Ethereum, but also an attack on XRP, which was Ethereum’s biggest competition at the time. Hogan’s claims are based on Ripple’s ongoing legal battle with the SEC, in which Ripple has argued that XRP is not a security and should not be regulated as such.
Hogan’s allegations are likely to fuel speculation about the relationship between the SEC and the cryptocurrency industry, and the extent to which SEC decisions are influenced by external factors. However, it is important to note that Hogan’s claims are based on speculation and have not been proven.
Currently, the value of XRP stands at $0.4731, indicating a marginal recovery of 0.6% from the previous day. This comes after a drop to $0.4564 on Wednesday. Despite the recent drop, XRP enthusiasts remain bullish and expect a positive outcome that could push the cryptocurrency’s price to a new yearly high, surpassing the $0.5833 mark reached in May.
This could put XRP, the sixth largest cryptocurrency on the market, in a favorable position to reach the $1 milestone.
Featured Image from Unsplash, Chart from TradingView.com
