Ripple lawsuit: government removes bio of key person

William Hinman was director of the corporate finance division of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from 2017 to 2020. Hinman was recently in the news because he once said in a speech during his time at the SEC that ethereum (ETH) is not a security. This statement of his still echoes, for example, in the lawsuit between Ripple (XRP) and the SEC. Now the SEC seems to want to cover up all ties to Hinman.

SEC dumps Hinman for good?

While until recently William Hinman’s biography on the SEC’s website was very extensive, with a detailed description of his past, that is no longer the case. Now is his bio shortened down to a single line: “Hinman was the director of SEC’s corporate finance division from 2017 to 2020.” Remarkably, the pages of other individuals, covering the same position, have remained untouched. This emerged from research of a Twitter account.

The big question is why the SEC is taking this action. So far, the SEC itself has not commented on the adjustment. What can be concluded is that the committee no longer seems to want to be associated with Hinman. Perhaps because his statements about crypto are at odds with the SEC’s ideology.

Nevertheless, it is striking that ethereum is not mentioned as a security in the new indictment against Binance.

Bill based on Hinman’s words

As mentioned, Hinman’s words from years later still echo. At the time, Hinman argued that ETH is not a security because it would be sufficiently decentralized. His statements are even used as evidence by Ripple in its legal dispute with the SEC. There is currently even a bill in development based on Hinman’s definition of “decentralized,” Messari founder Ryan Selkis shares via Twitter.

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It is possible that ‘Hinman’s test’ will be used in the bill. A test to determine whether a crypto asset is decentralized enough or not. However, the bill is still in its early stages and whether Hinman’s theories will actually lead to a working law is anything but certain.

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