Investment Banker Attempts to Shield Name from Public
The SEC v Ripple case was in the spotlight on Wednesday. Attorney James Filan shared an unexpected Court filing in response to a Ripple opposition filing.
“Investment Banker Declarant filed a response to Ripple’s opposition to the motion by Investment Banker Declarant to shield from public view his name, position, and employer.”
The lawyers argued,
“Had the Investment Banker Declarant declined to provide a statement, the SEC’s alternative was to compel his testimony to authenticate the document at issue. It is self-evident that where a witness’s only options are to provide a declaration or to testify, there is no truly voluntary ‘choice’ to be made.”
On January 18, Ripple filed an opposition to the Motion by “Investment Banker Declarant,” which sought to shield, from public view, his name, position, and employer because he voluntarily submitted the declaration in support of the SEC’s Summary Judgment motion.
The Defendants noted that neither party compelled the Declarant and his employer to provide the declaration, and neither party deposed them during discovery nor identified them as potential witnesses.
While the filing had no impact on XRP, it reflected the sensitivity of the case. However, a Court ruling on the William Hinman speech-related documents would have a material price impact. A ruling in favor of the Defendants could force the SEC down the settlement path and an XRP run at $0.50.
As background, former SEC Director of the Division of Corporation Finance William Hinman said that Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) are not securities. The contentious issue with the speech related to Hinman’s connection with Simpson Thacher, which is part of a group that promotes Enterprise Ethereum. After leaving the SEC, Hinman returned to Simpson Thacher.
Mid-week, the broader crypto market provided price support. Subsiding FTX and Genesis contagion risk delivering a bullish session.
Today, investors should monitor updates from the SEC v Ripple case. However, a lack of updates would leave the broader crypto market to provide direction. US economic indicators will draw interest today, with US GDP and jobless claims figures likely to influence. US corporate earnings have fueled recession fears. A sharp increase in jobless claims would test the appetite for riskier assets.
