- Morgan accuses the SEC of corruption, favoring Ethereum over the Ripple token, XRP.
- Hinman’s actions scrutinized; CPAC demands investigation into conflicts of interest.
An XRP lawyer has recently charged the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of corruption in the ongoing Ripple v. SEC court case, claiming excessive bias towards Ethereum at the expense of Ripple’s native asset, XRP.
Pro-XRP lawyer Bill Morgan has highlighted the activities of former SEC officer William Hinman as being at the heart of this issue, igniting a flurry of investigation and discussion. Blockchain researcher Collin Brown highlights Morgan’s criticisms and the escalating legal dispute between Ripple and the SEC.
Lawyer Bill Morgan criticizes SEC for favoring #Ethereum over #XRP, sparking more accusations of regulatory bias. CPAC lodges complaints against ex-SEC official William Hinman, questioning his ties to Ethereum and calling for investigations. Amidst SEC-Ripple lawsuit revelations,… pic.twitter.com/sNS6t3YCGP
— Collin Brown (@CollinBrownXRP) May 29, 2024
XRP Lawyer’s Claims Against SEC
Bill Morgan vented on social media his annoyances with what he dubbed “ETH Gate.” Highlighting the timing of the SEC’s Ripple inquiry, he accused the agency of corrupt tactics. But it is all simply a huge plot of the XRP community, Morgan said sarcastically at the start of his post.
But it is all just a grand conspiracy of the XRP community 😂.
It is good summary and that is without even taking into account that the SEC started investigating Ripple, at a time when XRP was number 3 in market cap behind Ethereum, in April 2018 while the draft of the Hinman… https://t.co/D4j5j6vG1p
— bill morgan (@Belisarius2020) May 29, 2024
He underlined that the probe started at the same time when XRP was the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization and Hinman’s remarks seemed to favor Ethereum.
Morgan’s remarks coincide with heightened attention being paid to William Hinman’s time at the SEC. Formally filing a complaint with the New York and California Bar Associations, the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) accused Hinman of unethical conduct and possible conflicts of interest.
Regarding Hinman’s prior ties, CPAC’s complaint draws attention to his 2018 speech arguing Ethereum should not be categorized as a security.
Conflict of Interest Allegations
Andrew Langer, Director of the Center for Regulatory Freedom at CPAC, has been outspoken in his support of an inquiry of Hinman’s actions. Langer’s grievances mostly center on Hinman’s ties to Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (STB), his previous law firm, which was active in the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance.
This link begs serious ethical concerns because it implies a conflict of interest because of possible advantages from Ethereum’s regulatory status, which Hinman’s speech affected.
At the same time that Simpson Thacher was promoting Ethereum’s application in a range of commercial sectors, Hinman’s crucial 2018 speech released Ethereum from intense regulatory scrutiny.
The lawsuit by CPAC highlights how, maybe as a result of his regulatory advice, Ethereum’s improved market position benefited Hinman’s previous company. The SEC’s drawn-out and divisive discovery procedure in its case against Ripple Labs has added to the controversy surrounding Hinman’s conduct.
Though Hinman had already concluded that Ether would not be categorized as a security, internal SEC emails show that he conferred with Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin before his speech.
This finding has intensified claims of corruption and prejudice inside the SEC. Hinman raised further worries in 2020 when he left the SEC and went back to STB before joining Andreessen Horowitz’s cryptocurrency team.
The State of the XRP Market Now
Meanwhile, CoinMarketCap data shows that the price of XRP at the time of writing was about $0.5290, down 0.12% from the previous day. This, together with the comparable 0.12% decline, also indicates a bearish posture during the previous week.
In the meantime, a CNF article said that in the midst of the token’s erratic price swings, an XRP whale just dumped 50 million tokens on the exchange.
