Tag: Hinman

Ripple vs. SEC: 189 Page Hinman Calendar Revealed Covering His Entire Tenure

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By Lele Jima. September 28, 2022. (The Crypto Basic)

Eleanor Terrett, a Fox Business journalist, shared some interesting information about the public calendar of SEC’s Bill Hinman, covering his entire tenure at the commission. 

“I have received a copy of Bill Hinman’s public calendar covering his entire tenure while at the @SECGov,” Terrett said.  

Some of the interesting details of Hinman’s public calendar include a series of meetings he had with Ethereum-related officials.

Hinman’s Meetings with Ethereum

According to Terrett, in the first two years of Hinman’s time in office, four meetings were scheduled with Ethereum blockchain software company ConsenSys and other officials related to the leading blockchain project.

On March 29, 2018, at 12:30 PM, Hinman had a scheduled meeting with ConsenSys and Amy Starr, an official of the SEC Corporation Finance.

A week later, the former SEC Corporation Finance director had a scheduled meeting with the title “ETH.” Another meeting dubbed “Ether” was also scheduled for Hinman on April 12, 2018, at 4:30 AM. On April 23, 2018, at 5 PM, Hinman had a scheduled meeting with Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin.

Read the full article here.

SEC Can’t Shield Ex-Official’s Speech Drafts, Ripple Says

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By Elise Hansen. May 16, 2022. (Law360)

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission can’t use attorney-client privilege to shield early drafts of former official Bill Hinman’s speech about cryptocurrencies, since Hinman gave the speech in his personal capacity, Ripple Labs told a New York federal court.

Attorney-client privilege doesn’t cover communications about Hinman’s personal remarks, and Hinman can’t be considered a “client” of the SEC’s attorneys for activities outside his official duties, Ripple and its executives argued Friday.

The letter was the latest shot in the discovery battle between the SEC and Ripple after the agency accused the blockchain-based payments company and its executives of violating federal securities laws in their sales of Ripple’s signature digital asset, XRP.

Read the full article here.

Former SEC director Hinman made millions from a pro-Ethereum firm during tenure

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By Protos Staff. May 13, 2022. (Protos)

A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by a whistleblower has revealed former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) director William Hinman was receiving millions of dollars in retirement benefits from a pro-Ethereum law firm during his tenure.

Hinman worked as the SEC’s corporate finance division chief from mid-2017 to late-2020. In June 2018, Hinman famously stated, “The Ethereum network and its decentralized structure, current offers and sales of Ether are not securities transactions,” (our emphasis).

However, information obtained by Empower Oversight Whistleblowers & Research shows Hinman was receiving substantial retirement benefits from his previous employer at the time of his statement. Law firm Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett is a member of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, a group that supports Ethereum projects. Hinman returned to the entity after his time at the SEC, serving as a senior advisor.

Read full article here.

SEC Asked To Probe Ex-Official’s Crypto Statements

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By Al Barbarino. May 10, 2022. (Law360)

A nonprofit watchdog asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate its former corporate finance head, Bill Hinman, now a Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP senior adviser, claiming statements he made about cryptocurrencies while at the agency may have presented a conflict of interest. 

Empower Oversight Whistleblowers & Research claims Hinman didn’t follow instructions that the SEC’s ethics office gave him to avoid conflicts tied to his financial interests in Simpson Thacher, including the firm’s connection to the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, or EEA, according to a letter the group sent Monday to the SEC’s Office of the Inspector General.

“Directives without compliance monitoring and sanctions for noncompliance are not meaningful; they are window dressings,” said Jason Foster, president of Empower Oversight, in an announcement about the letter.

Read the full article here.

Empower Oversight Requests SEC-OIG Conduct Investigation into the Failure of the SEC’s Ethics Office to Prevent Cryptocurrency Conflicts of Interest by Senior Staff

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By Empowr Oversight. May 10, 2022. (Empowr)

WASHINGTON — Empower Oversight sent a letter to the Office of the Inspector General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC-OIG) requesting a comprehensive review of the SEC’s ethics officials to properly manage SEC official William Hinman’s potential conflict of interest regarding cryptocurrency issues. The letter describes in detail instructions that the SEC’s Ethics Office provided to Mr. Hinman and actions by Mr. Hinman that are inconsistent with the instructions.

Specifically, records that were disclosed to Empower Oversight in response to an August 12, 2021, FOIA request show that the SEC’s Ethics Office cautioned Mr. Hinman that he had a direct financial interest in his former law firm, Simpson Thacher, and thus, he needed to recuse himself from any matters that would affect the firm; and, lest he may have misunderstood its position, the Ethics Office explicitly told him not to have any contact with Simpson Thacher personnel. Further, the Ethics Office provided Mr. Hinman with a draft memorandum, which was to be issued under his name, that established a screening arrangement to ensure that he complied with his obligation to recuse himself from certain matters with which he had a financial interest, or a personal or business relationship.

Read the full article here.

Former SEC Director accused of corruption, how might this affect the Ripple case?

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By Samuel Wan. April 11, 2022. (Cryptoslate).

Whistleblower group Empower Oversight has released details of emails received in a freedom of information request related to the ongoing SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit.

Among the 200 pages or so, they say there is evidence that former SEC Director William Hinman had a conflict of interest while initiating legal proceedings against Ripple.

The point of contention centers around Hinman’s involvement with the Ethereum Enterprise Alliance via New York-based legal firm Simpson Thacher. This was originally reported by CryptoSlate in April 2021.

However, things take a more ominous spin this time as the emails reveal damning information not known last year.

Read the full article here

The SEC’s Fair Notice Farce, Starring William Hinman

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By Roslyn Layton. July 19, 2021. (Forbes)

Covering the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) ill-conceived enforcement action against Ripple Labs is never dull, and last week offered another development in the case. When the agency accused the San Francisco-based software company of seven years of unregistered securities trades by its distribution of the XRP digital currency, it unwittingly opened the door to replacing the SEC’s antiquated Howey Test for defining securities. Moreover, it appears that the judge agrees with the defense’s argument that the SEC failed to provide fair notice to Ripple (or any market participant) that XRP was, in the agency’s view, a security since 2013.

Throughout the pre-trial phase of the case, Ripple’s legal team has demonstrated that the SEC denied fair notice not just on XRP, but cryptocurrencies in general. When Ripple filed an intention to present a fair notice defense, the SEC launched a series of desperate filings to stop Ripple, knowing that if that defense is permitted, the trial case against Ripple will be dead on arrival.

Read the Full Article Here.

Ripple Labs Can Question Former SEC Official in Suit Over XRP

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By Chris Dolmetsch. July 15, 2021. (Bloomberg)

Ripple Labs Inc. can question a former Securities and Exchange Commission official about the agency’s policy decisions as the company fights a lawsuit accusing it of misleading investors about its XRP cryptocurrency, a federal judge ruled.

The SEC sued Ripple, co-founder Christian Larsen and Chief Executive Officer Bradley Garlinghouse in New York last year, saying they had created a “vacuum” that allowed them to sell XRP into a market with limited information they chose to share. The agency alleges that the two men personally profited by about $600 million and ignored legal advice that the cryptocurrency could be considered an investment contract and therefore a security. It accused them of selling the virtual tokens without registering them as such.

Ripple has said the SEC can’t regulate XRP because, as a virtual currency used in international and domestic transactions, it’s a medium of exchange and not a security.

Read the Full Article Here.

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