SEC Must Turn Over Emails About Ethereum

SEC to hand over internal emails regarding the regulatory status of Ethereum
This will barely help Ripple – Lawyers say
ETH Price at the time of writing – $1,323.25

Late this week, Ripple won a procedural victory in its ongoing legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In 2020, the SEC sued the crypto payments company for the unregistered sale of $1.3 billion worth of XRP, which was Ripple’s first cryptocurrency.

A federal district judge rejected the SEC’s repeated attempts to prevent Ripple from accessing internal SEC emails related to a crucial speech on the regulatory status of rival cryptocurrency Ethereum on Thursday.

XRP Price at the time of writing – $0.4727

The emails, according to Ripple, will support its case and demonstrate how the SEC picked two winners in the crypto space—Bitcoin and Ethereum—while ignoring the rest.

However, legal professionals who spoke with Decrypt expressed skepticism regarding the significance of the ruling and the likelihood that it will improve Ripple’s chances of winning the SEC lawsuit.

Ripple was previously granted access to those emails by a magistrate judge. These emails provide context for a 2018 speech in which William Hinman, a former top SEC official, stated that Ethereum was not a security because it was sufficiently decentralized.

The SEC attempted to conceal the documents from Ripple’s legal team for months;The agency is now compelled to produce them as a result of yesterday’s ruling.

The price of XRP increased by just over 15% to $0.49 in the hours that followed the decision.

The ruling was hailed by supporters of Ripple as a significant victory, not only for the company in its lawsuit against the SEC but also for the cryptocurrency industry as a whole in its overall struggle against government regulation.

ALSO READ: There is Real Need for Improved Crypto Regulation – Powell

The industry needs Ripple to win – Handelsman

Long, on the other hand, is of the opinion that even if there is such a smoking gun, its connection to Ripple’s case is, at best, tangential.

Ironically, the language of Thursday’s ruling granting Ripple access to those emails weakens the potential legal significance of those internal SEC correspondences.

Yesterday, the lawsuit’s federal district judge ruled that Ripple had the right to view the SEC’s emails because they would only reveal Hinman’s personal opinions and did not contain any information about some form of agency position, decision, or policy.

In a similar vein, partner Mike Handelsman of the crypto law firm Kelman PLLC expressed doubt regarding the potential significance of Hinman’s emails to Ripple’s case.

However, despite Handelsman’s belief that the Ripple community’s understanding of the significance of this week’s ruling is flawed, he does not disagree with how they frame the case’s stakes.

Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while his post-graduation. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing along with being a developer. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing