Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse commented on the legal battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) during the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, again hinting at the importance of the Hinman document to the case.
As Bitcoinist reported, speculation about the document’s relevance has been going on for quite some time. While XRP community lawyer John Deaton tentatively thought that the document could force the SEC to settle with Ripple, he has backed away from that theory.
However, as the CEO of Ripple Garlinghouse explained during the Fireside chat yesterday, the crypto community can expect an explosive revelation if Hinman’s email is released to the public. Garlinghouse said the public would be appalled by the SEC’s behavior if the emails “were seen”.
Ripple’s CEO insisted that, due to the ongoing court case and the fact that the document has not been made public, he should be vague on the matter because “some of this stuff is not yet public.” However, Garlinghouse said:
Bill Hinman, director of corporate finance at the SEC, gave a speech in June 2018 about ETH being a security, but miraculously not a security.
And there are several related emails. Once it is known, I think you will see more how the SEC decides to bring a case against Ripple, because of what they say on their own wall.
$XRP @bgarlinghouse discussing Himan’s email today @ Davos – can’t wait for this to come out or maybe they won’t if damming? pic.twitter.com/owJKtBTtJf
– Futch (@xrp_futch) January 18, 2023
Ripple CEO Reveals Surprising Facts
Additionally, Garlinghouse again criticized the SEC for regulating through enforcement. “This is never an efficient way to manage. If you want to manage, do the work and write the rules […] and if the company comes to you and says ‘Hey, help me understand the rules, I want to make sure I follow the rules’; help them understand the rules,” said the Ripple CEO.
During the Fireside chat, Garlinghouse also revealed that he had met with the SEC three times, and not once in that meeting did the SEC say; “Hey, XRP might be a security.”
Ripple’s CEO, therefore, attacked the SEC for its ambivalent attitude that it allegedly considered XRP a security from the beginning, but never informed the company and its CEO. “This doesn’t feel like a genuine partnership between the public sector and the private sector,” Garlinghouse said.
He also echoed Ripple’s general counsel Stuart Alderoty’s recent assessment that the more than two-year legal battle with the SEC would be resolved in “single-digit months,” adding that he was confident of a positive outcome:
We expect a decision from the judge of course in 2023. You have no control over when the judge makes his decision. But I’m optimistic that in the next few single-digit months, we’ll be closed there.
At press time, XRP was trading at $0.3841. With this, the price is still hovering below the main resistance zone between $0.40 and $0.43.
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