John Deaton, the founder of CryptoLaw and Managing Partner of Deaton Law Firm, recently provided an in-depth analysis of the upcoming release of the Hinman Speech Documents in a video update. These documents, linked to a speech by William Hinman on 14 June 2018 — at the “Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit: Crypto” — stating that current sales of ether are not securities transactions, are set to be unsealed on June 13, 2023, a day before the fifth anniversary of Hinman’s speech.
Deaton’s video offers a comprehensive understanding of why these documents are paramount to the SEC v. Ripple case and all current and potential enforcement actions by the SEC against crypto projects, companies, and tokens. He meticulously breaks down the documents, discussing their potential contents, including comments and drafts related to Hinman’s speech.
Addressing the confusion surrounding the extension granted to Ripple to unseal these documents, Deaton discusses the likelihood of an appeal or objection by the SEC. He clarifies that the documents will not contain comments from individuals outside the SEC, as these could not have been argued under attorney-client privilege or deliberative process privilege.
The video further explores the potential implications of these documents. One significant possibility is that they contain comments suggesting that XRP does not satisfy all elements of the Howie analysis, thereby implying that it is not a security for purposes of the federal Securities laws.
Deaton concludes his video by discussing the potential impact of these documents on the secondary market and XRP holders. He also mentions the upcoming release of the Empower oversight emails, which deal with SEC communications with third parties.
In a final note, Deaton announces that he will host a panel discussion to review the Hinman documents once they are released. This discussion promises to provide further insights into the implications of these documents and their potential impact on the crypto industry.
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