Deaton Shares Hinman’s Deposition Transcript Where He Claimed “Ethereum is Fairly Transparent”

Attorney Deaton shares transcripts from Hinman’s deposition in the SEC vs. Ripple legal tussle.

CryptoLaw founder attorney John Deaton took to Twitter today to share different copies of Hinman’s deposition transcript in the SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit. The deposition, which took place on July 27, 2021, relates to the sworn testimony of William Hinman, former director of SEC’s Corporation Finance, in Ripple’s legal battle against the commission.

In a tweet today, attorney Deaton first shared a part of Hinman’s deposition where Ripple’s General Counsel Stuart Alderoty, who was present at the testimony, “spit out his coffee.” For clarity, to spit out one’s coffee refers to a person’s reaction to a funny or surprising statement.

The pro-XRP lawyer highlighted a portion of the transcript where Hinman noted that Ethereum was compelling because it was “fairly transparent.”

“You know, with respect to Ethereum, one of the things that were somewhat compelling was [the fact that] it was fairly transparent,” Hinman said in the deposition transcript shared by attorney Deaton.

According to the transcript, @s_alderoty was present and listening during the Hinman deposition. I found the moment where he spit out his coffee.

BILL HINMAN QUOTE:

“You know, with respect to Ethereum one of the things that was somewhat compelling was it was fairly… pic.twitter.com/URbNL2VajZ

— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) June 16, 2023

Did Hinman Lie During His Deposition?

Deaton has been sharing transcripts of Hinman’s deposition via his Twitter handle. Earlier today, the pro-XRP lawyer shared a part of the transcript where Hinman apparently lied despite being under oath.

In one of the transcripts, Ripple’s attorneys asked Hinman if he discussed the substance of his June 14, 2018, speech with anyone other than SEC officials. Interestingly, Hinman answered, “No, not on the substance.”

HINMAN WAS ASKED:

“Did you have communications with anyone other than SEC staff about the substance of your remarks in the June 14, 2018 speech before you gave it?”

READ HIS ANSWER: pic.twitter.com/MRQfZnXieT

— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) June 16, 2023

However, the recently-released Hinman’s emails show that the former director of SEC’s Corporation Finance scheduled a meeting with Ethereum’s co-founder Vitalik Buterin a few days leading up to the controversial speech.

Per Deaton, Hinman told SEC officials he would meet with Buterin to understand the Ethereum network better. It is interesting to note that after the meeting, Hinman declared ETH, Ethereum’s native asset, as a non-security, during his speech at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit.

We’ve all seen the Hinman email of June 4 where he calls it the “Ether Speech” and tells everyone he’s meeting with @VitalikButerin the following week to confirm Hinman’s understanding of the Ethereum network and @ethereum foundation.

— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) June 16, 2023