Cardano blockchain ecosystem founder Charles Hoskinson recently addressed allegations of corruption in the SEC v. Ripple case on Twitter. Hoskinson’s comments were in response to a tweet from user Mr. Huber, who suggested that former SEC official Bill Hinman’s speech on Ethereum being a cryptocurrency and not a security was not a coincidence. The conspiracy theory, known as ETHGate, revolves around the idea that Ethereum received preferential treatment from the SEC compared to XRP and other rivals.
In his tweet, Mr. Huber argued that it was “ridiculous” to believe that Hinman’s speech and the backing from former SEC head Clayton were mere coincidences. He further referenced Hoskinson’s previous denial of any conspiracy between Ethereum insiders and the SEC.
Mr Huber asserted:
It is a ridiculous idea to claim Hinman’s speech on Ethereum was pure coincidence. But anyone who claims that this scandal is just an absurd conspiracy must believe Hinman’s policy and Clayton’s backing was a mere happenstance. Which again is just a ridiculous idea.
Hoskinson promptly reacted to Mr. Huber’s tweet by clarifying his position on the issue. He explained that he had referred to the idea of the entire SEC being united against Ripple due to bribes from Ethereum insiders as a conspiracy. Furthermore, he noted that with Coinbase, Kraken, Bittrex, Tron, and numerous other entities now facing similar issues, this perspective appears to be increasingly accurate.
The ETHGate conspiracy theory posits that Ethereum was granted a free pass by regulators while XRP and other competitors faced harsher treatment. Some proponents of this theory argued that Ethereum “whales” might have created fake identities and accounts to make the Ethereum Network and its initial coin offering appear more decentralized than it actually was.
Hoskinson’s response highlighted the growing debate around the SEC’s handling of the Ripple case and its potential implications for the wider cryptocurrency industry. As the situation continues to unfold, it remains to be seen whether new evidence would emerge to support or debunk the conspiracy theory surrounding Ethereum and the SEC.
