SDNY releases documents in which an ex-SEC director suggested ether and bitcoin were not securities in 2018, which crypto advocates say undermines the SEC
- Certain documents related to former SEC director William Hinman have been released in the SEC's lawsuit against Ripple Labs.
The BlockVishal Chawla
Context & Ripple Effects
The release is the culmination of a discovery fight in which Ripple first sought the agency’s rationale for treating bitcoin and ether differently from XRP, then won access to Hinman’s testimony and related material. A judge’s decision preventing the SEC from sealing the Hinman records made the documents public-facing evidence rather than a private litigation dispute.
It matters because Hinman’s 2018 view had long been a reference point for crypto classification, while earlier coverage also recorded disagreement over how Ethereum and XRP should be treated. The documents add institutional context to the former official’s public remarks on bitcoin and ether.
First-order effects
Ripple and its supporters gain material to argue that the SEC’s treatment of token classifications has been inconsistent or insufficiently explained; the documents do not by themselves determine XRP’s legal status.
The SEC must defend the distinction between an individual official’s internal views and the agency’s enforceable position in the Ripple litigation.
Second-order effects
Other crypto defendants and their legal teams can point to the disclosure when pressing the SEC for discovery on how it reached asset-specific classification decisions.
Market participants face a sharper divide between informal regulatory signals and formal legal outcomes, increasing the value of court rulings and agency rulemaking over speeches or internal deliberations.
Third-order effects
If courts continue to expose and weigh regulators’ internal crypto deliberations, enforcement-led classification may become harder to sustain without clearer, consistently articulated standards.
The episode reinforces the crypto legitimacy gap: token markets seek durable legal categories, while those categories are still being contested through individual cases.
The trend: This is one data point in crypto’s shift from relying on regulator speeches toward testing asset classification through disclosure battles and court precedent.
@jungleincxrp Wish I could go in depth now, but we've waited this long (18+ months), I don't want to overstep... suffice it to say @s_alderoty and I believe they were well worth the wait.
NEW: “Prior to making the speech, Hinman said in an email to multiple SEC employees that the speech suggests ‘we do not need to see a need to regulate Ether, as it is currently offered, as a security.’”
1. Hearing on motion to seize Binance assets in DDC; 2. Release of Hinman docs in SDNY; 3. SEC response to order on @Coinbase petition in 3rd Cir. Not every federal court day is eventful in crypto, but tomorrow is. May God bless the US Courts.
Next extract. But the OGC has concerns. It may impact on what the SEC says about Ethereum in the future. No problem with those concerns. Hinman spoke to Buterin and understands how Ether works. The Ether discussion stays in the speech. We no why. /8 [image]
🚨NEW: Unredacted potions of @Ripple's brief in opposition to @SECGov summary judgment motion shows senior SEC officials suggesting the #Hinman speech have “the less detail the better”. [image]
To @iampaulgrewal's point, tomorrow will likely prove to be one of the most consequential days in the history of the US blockchain community. Buckle up and pray the judicial system helps provide relief for US users tomorrow. https://twitter.com/...
newsflash: yet another (former) government official says ETH is not a security i don't even know what we are debating anymore, as even Gary said it was not a security in ~2019 are we debating if they will debate that it's debatable if ETH is a security? 🤔 https://twitter.com/...
Not sure if these are the entirety of the Hinman documents coming today but if so, I don't think these are fatal for it's $XRP case. If anything, it seems they didn't want these out bc it will make it functionally VERY difficult to argue ETH specifically is a security. https://tw…
SEC: Come in and register. The laws are clear and always have been. Also SEC: “The less detail, the better. Hinman's new test goes beyond the typical Howey analysis.” https://twitter.com/...