I Don’t Have a Single Polite Word

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse didn’t mince his words in recent tweets criticizing the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) following the unveiling of previously undisclosed emails related to the infamous speech given by Bill Hinman, former director of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance.

Garlinghouse expressed frustration and bewilderment at the regulator’s conduct, saying, “I don’t have a single polite word to describe this deplorable, politically-motivated overreach.”

In his tweets, Garlinghouse made a scathing critique of the SEC’s lawsuit against him and Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen, citing “politically-motivated overreach” in the charges related to selling unregistered securities. He also pointed out how the regulator has “weaponized the lack of regulatory clarity” to the point of creating industry chaos, despite significant pushback.

This intense reaction from Garlinghouse was in response to a thread from Ripple’s chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty. Alderoty scrutinized the newly public emails and drafts related to Hinman’s speech five years ago. He noted that the Office of General Counsel (OGC) and the Division of Trading and Markets deemed certain elements of Hinman’s criteria for determining the security status of a digital asset as “legally irrelevant.”

Alderoty called for swift action, including the removal of Hinman’s speech from the SEC’s website and a full investigation into any potential conflicts of interest that might have influenced the crafting of the speech.

He emphasized that this speech should not be used in future discussions about the security status of any token and stressed the importance of law enforcement faithfully applying the law within the constraints of their jurisdiction.

The impact of the much-awaited Hinman emails on the SEC lawsuit is yet to be fully understood, but the XRP price has already experienced a notable increase this morning, jumping by 3.8%.