In what appears to be a victory for the Ripple and crypto community, US District Judge Analisa Torres made an order on Tuesday, denying a request from the SEC to seal Hinman documents.
The Hinman materials arose from a speech given by former SEC Finance Division Director William Hinman, who stated that Ethereum is not a security.
On December 22, the SEC filed a motion to seal the internal emails, text messages, and expert reports that followed Hinman’s speech, stating that its purpose trumped the “public’s right” to view materials that have “no relevance” to the court’s summary judgment ruling, among other things.
However, Judge Torres ruled that the documents in question are “judicial documents” subject to a strong presumption of public access. This indicates that the Judge has determined that the documents should be made available to the public.
Interestingly, this judgment implies that the judge determined that the necessity for transparency and public scrutiny outweighed any potential reason for sealing the records. The Hinman Speech Documents “would reasonably have the tendency to influence [the Court’s] ruling on a motion,” she noted.
While the Hinman Speech materials will be made public, the court granted the SEC’s requests to redact names, identifying information, personal data, and financial data. Simply explained, It means that the court has decided that some sensitive material should be kept private and not made public.
Additionally, the court also rejected other arguments from Ripple seeking to have documents sealed, including revenues generated from selling XRP and how much it pays trading platforms.
The Impact of the Update on XRP
Following the update, the price of Ripple’s native token, XRP increased by about 7.6%. Currently, the token is trading at $0.44 according to data from CoinMarketCap. Notably, the jump in the price of XRP can be attributed to increased confidence and positive sentiment among investors.
While many XRP holders are optimistic that the SEC may choose a settlement of this lawsuit against Ripple to bring the case to a close, Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse has said the legal dispute may be resolved before the end of the first half of the year.
