Hinman, the SEC and Ripple

Ripple believes that the Hinman docs could potentially play a key role in the SEC's December 2020 lawsuit against the company, which asserts that Ripple sold $1.3 billion worth of XRP as an unregistered security.

Ripple used Hinman’s speech as an indication that the SEC does not view Bitcoin or Ethereum as a security, arguing that XRP should not be considered a security either. As part of its defense, the company also asserted that the SEC has failed to establish its claim and that XRP is not a security or an investment contract under U.S. federal law.