Ripple CEO: Hinman docs are ‘well worth the wait’

As the unsealing of the Hinman documents approaches in a day, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse expressed his belief that the documents will prove to be highly valuable, making the wait worthwhile.

Responding to a query from crypto YouTuber Jungle Inc on June 12 via Twitter, Garlinghouse mentioned that he didn’t want to exceed his boundaries but both he and Ripple’s chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty perceive the documents as holding significant value, justifying the lengthy 18-month battle to have them unsealed.

The Hinman documents are a collection of internal SEC messages that pertain to a speech delivered by former Securities and Exchange Director William Hinman in 2018. In the speech, Hinman expressed the view that certain cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin and Ether, could initially be considered securities but might transition into a more commodity-like status as they achieve a higher level of decentralization.

Numerous supporters of Ripple hold the belief that the upcoming unsealing of these documents will play a crucial role in offering additional clarity regarding the legal classification of Ripple’s native token, XRP.

The SEC first took legal action against Ripple in December 2020, alleging that the sale of its native XRP (XRP) token represented an unregistered securities offering. Since then, Ripple has denied XRP is a security, arguing it does not satisfy the Howey test.

source