New documents recently released by Empower Oversight, an anti-corruption watchdog, have shed light on the involvement of Joseph Lubin, an Ethereum co-founder, in the drafting process of the controversial William Hinman speech.
This development has sparked widespread reactions among XRP enthusiasts, who have been closely following the ongoing legal battle between Ripple and the U.S. SEC.
Empower Oversight took to Twitter yesterday to announce the SEC’s release of an additional 324 pages of documents in response to their Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. This comes in the wake of Empower Oversight’s lawsuit against the regulatory agency earlier this year.
🧵1. The @SECgov has now turned over 324 pages of new documents in response to our crypto conflicts FOIA requests. https://t.co/Axzz0cFyJF
— Empower Oversight (@EMPOWR_us) August 3, 2023
Read Also: Legal Expert Says a Breach of Ethics Could Mark SEC’s End in Lawsuit against Ripple. Here’s why
At the center of these newly disclosed documents lies the revelation of Lubin’s notable role during the drafting of Hinman’s speech, which took place on June 14, 2018. It was during this speech that Hinman declared both Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) as non-securities, a statement that has been a topic of controversy since then.
Ripple’s copy of the documents had earlier revealed that Hinman disregarded warnings from senior SEC officials regarding the speech. It was also revealed that Hinman initially referred to the speech as “The Hinman Speech” and held a meeting with Vitalik Buterin, another co-founder of Ethereum, just one week prior.
Empower Oversight’s recently released emails now shed further light on Lubin’s involvement in facilitating the connection between Buterin and Hinman during the drafting process.
The emails indicate that Lubin initiated contact with the SEC, reaching out to Barnett Gary, the then deputy director of SEC’s Trading and Markets division, to arrange a meeting. Gary subsequently introduced Lubin to Hinman, who expressed enthusiasm about the meeting.
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XRP Community Reacts
This latest development has sent shockwaves through the XRP community, and various prominent figures have since reacted to the newly disclosed information. Crypto-Law.US took to Twitter to highlight how Lubin influenced the naming of Hinman’s speech as “The Ether Speech.”
Attorney John Deaton, the founder of Crypto-Law.US, also weighed in, recalling how Hinman lied under oath during his deposition in the ongoing Ripple lawsuit. Hinman had claimed that he never communicated with external parties about the content of his speech, but the documents show that he did indeed meet with Buterin a week prior.
Digital Asset Investor, a well-known XRP influencer, and YouTuber, joined the chorus of reactions to the SEC’s emails. He referred back to a statement by Hinman, where he denied the SEC having identified a third-party promoter associated with Ethereum.
Digital Asset Investor argued that Lubin, who allegedly attempted to arrange a meeting with the SEC, could be considered a third-party promoter.
“Bill Hinman said they didn’t see a third-party promoter with Ethereum. The third-party promoter literally sent an email to try and get the meeting with the SEC.”
As the legal battles continue, these new revelations add another layer of complexity to the already heated discussions surrounding the regulatory status of cryptocurrencies and their associated projects. And while the true impact of Lubin’s role in Hinman’s speech remains to be seen, it is clear that these latest developments will leave a lasting impact on the ongoing Ripple-SEC lawsuit and the broader cryptocurrency community as a whole.
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