In the high-stakes chess match of the crypto world, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) just got checkmated in a pivotal move. The SEC’s ongoing legal brawl with Ripple, the creators of the digital asset XRP, has taken an unexpected twist. The scales of justice tipped in Ripple’s favor when a federal judge ruled that the general public should have access to a series of secret documents – the much-anticipated “Hinman emails.”
U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres banged the gavel down, insisting that these hush-hush records be thrown open for the world to see. These digital breadcrumbs can trace back to an address made by ex-SEC official, William Hinman, back in 2018. In a surprising disclosure, Hinman had stated that he didn’t consider Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) as securities.
Ripple is betting the farm on these emails, believing that they could shed some light on the SEC’s seemingly arbitrary choices of crypto winners and losers. They’re hoping the contents could give a reason why the SEC tagged some digital currencies as securities and gave others a free pass.
Despite the SEC’s best attempts to keep these explosive emails out of court, Judge Torres’ ruling changed the game. Even after being ordered to turn over the documents, the SEC tried a last-minute move to keep parts of it under wraps. But, Torres made a firm stand, denying the SEC’s request to keep the documents sealed.
Prominent crypto attorney James K. Filan suggests that the Hinman emails could be public by June 6th. This could mark a new chapter in the lawsuit that the SEC has been pursuing since December 2020. They’ve been accusing Ripple of selling XRP as an unregistered security for years, and it’s about time for Ripple to fight back.