The SEC's internal discussions about a 2018 speech by its former corporate finance director Bill Hinman have been revealed in new documents.
The SEC's Stance on Crypto Regulation Has Been Criticized by Some Lawmakers and Industry Players
The SEC's internal discussions about a 2018 speech by its former corporate finance director Bill Hinman have been revealed in new documents. The speech, which stated that Ether was not a security, raised some concerns among the SEC staff about the implications of such a statement for the agency's future position on Ether and other cryptocurrencies.
The documents show that some SEC editors suggested adding caveats or clarifications to Hinman's speech to avoid contradicting himself or locking the agency into a stance that might be hard to change later. They also questioned whether Hinman's view was consistent with the Howey test, a legal framework for determining whether an asset is a security.
The speech was given in the context of the SEC's lawsuit against Ripple, which accuses the company of selling its native token XRP as an unregistered security. Ripple has argued that XRP is not a security and that Hinman's speech supports its case. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said that the documents would be "well worth the wait."
The disclosure of the documents comes at a turbulent time for the crypto industry, as the SEC has also taken action against crypto platforms. The SEC's stance on crypto regulation has been criticized by some lawmakers and industry players, who have called for more clarity and innovation-friendly policies.
