SEC fought hard to keep emails private
In recent updates In the Ripple-SEC lawsuit, the battle for SEC emails continues with another filing expected this Friday. The SEC’s motion to renew the assertion of attorney-client privilege and to redact the speech materials is expected this Friday, April 29.
Earlier, the SEC had told that court that it was going to file new privilege assertions in a last-ditch effort to prevent the production of emails related to the infamous Ethereum speech of William Hinman, the former director of the SEC’s Division of Corporate Finance. The agency had also stated its intent to oppose the court’s deliberative process privilege (DPP) ruling, asking for additional time.
In a 2018 speech, William Hinman, then SEC director of corporate finance, said Ethereum was not a security. Ripple demanded that the SEC disclose 70 emails regarding the infamous speech that was distributed within the agency. The SEC fought to keep the emails private, even releasing an expert report on the last day of the discovery.
The SEC was criticized by the court, and it was ordered to pay the defendant’s expenses as well as the cost of re-deposing an expert witness.
After being sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission in late 2020, Ripple received a lot of backlash from the cryptocurrency community for targeting Bitcoin and Ethereum in their Wells notice and blaming the SEC for having chosen “winners and losers”. At the same time, members of the XRP community believe the SEC has created an uneven playing field for other projects by allegedly providing clarity for the two major cryptocurrencies.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse recently stated that maximalism is a big roadblock for the sector. Garlinghouse, who owns Bitcoin and Ethereum, believes that several cryptocurrencies could succeed, which is why tribalism has no place in the cryptocurrency world.
In updates over the weekend, Ripple’s General Counsel Stuart Alderoty said Ripple is working to settle the matter as soon as possible, although a resolution is most likely in 2023. It said: ”To everyone who has followed the matter this far – thank you. Know that Ripple is doing everything possible (and the Court is working hard) to resolve the case as quickly as possible, despite the fact that the SEC has repeatedly done everything it can to delay. ”
