In the landmark Ripple v. SEC case, the future of cryptocurrency in the United States is reportedly believed to be developing.
Dr. Roslyn Layton has now reportedly filed an Amended Motion to Intervene to petition the Court for access to the Hinman Speech Documents, reportedly citing an error.
Sharing the development, defense lawyer and former federal prosecutor James K. Filan tweeted:
https://twitter.com/FilanLaw/status/1628324373332389891
Dr. Layton had earlier reportedly filed a request to be allowed to access the Hinman Speech Documents. At the time, Dr. Layton had reportedly argued that “the SEC had offered the Hinman Speech Documents in support of its own summary judgment motion when that was not the case,” per James K. Filan.
Dr. Layton has reportedly offered a clarification in her request arguing the critical vitality of the Hinman Speech Documents’ public availability. She argues that the said documents can explain the United States (U.S.) Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) regulatory status for cryptocurrencies.
Per Dr. Layton, the said documents can assist Ripple in defending its XRP token against the SEC allegations. The SEC reportedly alleges that Ripple’s native XRP token is a security. The Hinman Speech Documents relate to a speech given by ex-SEC Director of Corporation Finance, William Hinman, in 2018. In the said speech, Hinman addressed in detail the regulatory status of cryptocurrencies.
The “Amended Motion” reads, Ripple has made the Hinman Speech Documents “judicial documents” by “introducing them into evidence” in support of its summary judgment motion, thereby attesting to their importance in “determining“ the parties’ “substantive rights”
Earlier, the SEC had not agreed to make Hinman’s documents available, reportedly citing confidentiality preservation. Notably, a speech access request has also been made by Ripple, where it reportedly stresses the relevancy of the speech to the case in question and in preparing its defense.
Reportedly, in the said speech, William Hinman addressed Bitcoin BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) as not being securities. The Ripple community and stakeholders believe the same justification could also be applied to XRP.
Dr. Layton is a columnist, a regulatory policy scholar, a visiting researcher at Aalborg University, an EVP of Strand Consult, and Sr. Contributor to Forbes.com.
