The move by the US Securities and Exchange Commission to close the records of its internal investigation follows the speech of former CEO William Hinman – a move that was seen as a victory for the Ripple and crypto community.
In a June 2018 speech, the former director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s financial division said that Ether ETH ($1,793), the underlying token of the Ethereum blockchain, is not a security.
The SEC filed the complaint Dec. 22 to seal internal emails, text messages and expert reports following Hinman’s speech, arguing that his message undermined the “public’s right” to access documents that were “irrelevant” to the decision summary judgment of the court, among other arguments. However, a U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres ruled that the documents were “court documents” under the stricture of public access.
Hinman’s statement “will have a reasonable effect on the [Court’s] decision on appeal,” he added. Judge Torres said the court also rejected the SEC’s argument that sealing the documents was necessary to preserve “openness and honesty” within the SEC, saying:
“No procedural privilege protects Hinman’s statements because they do not affect any position, decision, or policy of the company.”
While the court ruled that documents from Hinman’s case should be made public, it approved two other SEC requests seeking to remove the names and credentials of SEC experts on XRP ($0.45) investors invest money, as well as personal and financial information of accused persons.
The court also rejected some motions to shut down Ripple, including the proposal to link Ripple’s currency to the XRP market and the fees offered on trading platforms, among others. Ripple discussed key evidence in its ongoing legal battle with the SEC, which claims Ripple’s XRP trading violated US securities laws. The price of XRP rose on the news, jumping around 2.6% paying 0.43 US dollars.
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