SEC wants to redact the two drafts of Hinman’s speech.

Shortly after turning over the drafts of William Hinman’s 2018 controversial speech, the SEC submitted for in-camera review proposed redactions to two document drafts. 

The development was shared by James K. Filan, a former U.S. federal prosecutor. 

#XRPCommunity #SECGov v. #Ripple #XRP The SEC has submitted for in camera review by Magistrate Judge Netburn proposed redactions to two drafts of Hinman’s June 2018 speech that discuss pending determinations before the SEC. pic.twitter.com/ZTnHo0jcke

— James K. Filan ???? 120k (beware of imposters) (@FilanLaw) October 21, 2022

The securities regulators want to redact the documents because they contain discussions about pending matters of the agency.

“Pursuant to the Court’s July 12, 2022 order, the SEC respectfully submits for in-camera review proposed redactions to two drafts of Director Bill Hinman’s June 2018 speech that discuss pending determination before the commission,” an excerpt of the SEC motion read.

According to the SEC, the court ruled on April 11, 2022, that the agency could seek to leave to request redaction of communications by SEC staff discussing how the Hinman speech could affect other agencies’ affairs.

“The SEC is hereby submitting these two documents with its proposed redactions highlighted in yellow on page 6 of entry 29 and page 5 of entry 35 […] and therefore seeks to leave to make corresponding redactions to those two documents,” it concluded.

The proposed redactions have been submitted for in-camera review by Judge Sarah Netburn. Ripple is expected to comment on the SEC’s request in the coming days.

As reported, the SEC finally handed over the drafts of Hinman’s controversial 2018 speech to Ripple, as ordered by Judge Analisa Torres.

“Over 18 months and 6 court orders later, we finally have the Hinman docs (internal SEC emails and drafts of his infamous 2018 speech),” Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s General Counsel said.

SEC Files Opposition to Ripple’s Summary Judgment Motion

Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission has also opposed Ripple’s summary judgment motion. The regulators asked the court to grant its summary judgment motion because of the evidence that proves Ripple conducted unregistered securities offerings in the U.S.

According to the SEC, Ripple’s analysis of the Howey test is an attempt by the blockchain company to construct its “own test from pre-1933 state law by taking out of context two words (“essential ingredients’ from the Howey opinion, and then purportedly showing that they pass their test.”

The SEC maintained that XRP is a security because most of Ripple’s XRP sales were made in exchange for money, adding that purchasers invested in a common enterprise with one another and Ripple.

Furthermore, the SEC claimed that Ripple led investors to expect profit from XRP based on its managerial efforts.

“Finally, the Individual Defendants’ arguments that certain of their XRP offers and sales were not ‘domestic’ also fails,” the SEC added.

Ripple continues to expand despite the deepening crypto winter and SEC case.

In a tweet on Friday, Ripple urged the public to consider joining its team and look through open positions on its website as it is looking to expand.

As highlighted by the company in its tweet, a FORTUNE survey in May found that 95% of staff thought it was a great place to work. Far greater than the average of 57% in the US. Notably, Ripple currently ranks 34th in FORTUNE’s list of 100 best medium places to work.

95% of employees at Ripple say it is a great place to work. Learn more about #RippleLife and explore open opportunities to join our team. ? #BestWorkplaces https://t.co/BW1yhSZV5m pic.twitter.com/9C5hZDcx4I

— Ripple (@Ripple) October 21, 2022

It is worth noting that a search through the company’s open positions reveals that there are about 156 available roles, with some roles that need filling in multiple regions, which could easily multiply the number of open positions.

It is worth noting that the blockchain-based Fintech company is looking to expand in a period when many others in the industry have been cutting back on staff. The trend comes as the crypto industry is feeling the squeeze as asset prices continue to plummet.

Notably, this, combined with a legal battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, does not appear to slow the firm down. Instead, Ripple is expanding its services to other regions.

As highlighted by Ripple chief Brad Garlinghouse in April, nothing changes should the company lose its legal battle with the US SEC. Garlinghouse asserted that the company is already operating with the mindset that it has lost the case. Consequently, 95% of its clients are outside of the US.

Notably, the case with the SEC is nearing its end, and Ripple looks like a strong contender to win it. Moreover, the company’s legal team has expressed even more confidence in their arguments as they have finally received the documents relating to the draft of the controversial William Hinman speech in 2018.

Another third party has requested leave to file an amicus brief supporting Ripple.

SpendTheBits Requests to File Amicus Brief in Support of Ripple Against SEC.

SpendTheBit, an XRPL-based payment solution used for cheap and fast crypto transactions, is the latest third party to request to file an amicus curiae brief in the Ripple vs. SEC lawsuit.

The company noted that its brief differs from those filed by other amici, such as TapJets and I-Remit. While I-Remit and TapJets use XRP as a payment method via the On-Demand Liquidity solution, SpendTheBits is a private company that developed an application that uses XRP Ledger and XRP for transferring Bitcoin.

The payment solution noted that its amicus brief would provide the court with meaningful information about the case. The development comes after the court granted I-Remit and TapJets’ request for leave to file amicus briefs.

SpendTheBits’ Interest in the Case

Aside from using Ripple’s solution, SpendTheBits noted that its major interest in the lawsuit is to disprove the SEC’s claim that XRP investors cannot develop any use for the token without Ripple’s effort.

SpendTheBits described the claim as untrue because its payment solution was built on the Ripple blockchain without Ripple’s knowledge and consent. 

Jay Kambo, the founder and CEO of SpendTheBits said he tapped Ripple to enable people to quickly transfer Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for peer-to-peer payments in five seconds.

“This application creates a utility for XRP without Ripple even knowing it exists. The underlying technology of XRP provides a vast amount of utility without the permission or knowledge of Ripple.

… Transferring Bitcoin on a bitcoin network can take anywhere from ten minutes to one hour, depending on the network traffic. WithSpendTheBits, it takes three to five seconds to complete the transaction on the XRPL.”

SpendTheBits noted that it initially planned to launch the payment solution in the United States. However, the lack of regulatory clarity in the U.S. and the ongoing lawsuit has halted that plan, SpendTheBits noted, adding: 

“Clearly, SpendTheBits’ interests have been impacted by this lawsuit already, but without making a distinction between particular sales involving the individual defendants and XRP in the secondary market, the SEC is threatening the viability of SpendTheBits.”