BitBoy Crypto alleges former SEC Director took bribes to label ETH a commodity

Crypto influencer Ben Armstrong (BitBoy Crypto) alleged that former SEC Director William Hinman accepted bribes to declare Ethereum (ETH) a commodity in an Oct. 9 tweet.

Armstrong made his statement in reaction to Cardano’s (ADA) founder Charles Hoskinson’s thoughts on the issue of corruption among SEC officials.

Hoskinson urges Ripple lawyers to argue against XRP being security

According to Hoskinson, Ripple’s lawyers should be arguing that an independent and decentralized token like XRP shouldn’t be declared security instead of implying that the SEC gave ETH a free pass because of corruption.

Ripple’s community had suggested that SEC’s former director William Hinman accepted bribes from firms with a financial interest in ETH. According to them, this was why the former director declared that Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum were not securities in a 2018 speech.

Meanwhile, some within the XRP community did not agree with Hoskinson’s views, arguing that his description of the allegations as a conspiracy theory derailed the case.

Pro-XRP lawyer John Deaton insists that allegations against Hinman matter significantly and are based on facts, not conspiracy.

BitBoy stated that he believes Hoskinson has valid points. However, he declared:

“William Hinman certainly accepted bribes. It’s CLEAR.”

SEC has refused to release Hinman’s speech

U.S. SEC has refused to release the controversial Hinman’s 2018 speech, arguing that the speech is irrelevant to the case.

U.S. District Judge Analise Torres recently ordered the commission to release the speech to Ripple — the second time a judge ordered the SEC to hand over the documents.

Ripple recently criticized the SEC for opposing the amicus briefs filed by two firms using its blockchain technology. According to the crypto firm, the filings were meant to aid the court.

Hoskinson and Ripple’s co-founder calls for regulation

Hoskinson further reiterated his opinion, saying, “the entire XRP affair shouldn’t have happened.”

Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen agreed that the more critical issue is the lack of regulatory clarity on the classification and use of crypto.

He further commended Hoskinson’s work on developing a code for Proof of Useful Work, an attempt to make Bitcoin carbon-negative.

Source: https://cryptoslate.com/bitboy-crypto-alleges-former-sec-director-took-bribes-to-label-eth-a-commodity/