XRP Lawsuit: Will the SEC continue unjust litigations after making Ripple settle with a seal?

The latest development in the XRP lawsuit saw the court grant Motion to Seal in both, Slack and DPP disputes. Although, both parties pushed for a seal in their respective discovery disputes, yet Ripple may have bored the burn of the settlement.

It can be speculated that Ripple negotiated a deal with the SEC to get protection, while the commission pursues further litigation against other crypto projects without the burden of legal precedent.

SEC argument in DPP dispute

The SEC has been determined to keep the DPP dispute documents hidden since the filing of the motion to compel discovery. The plaintiff argued its stance against the discovery of internal and inter-agency documents protected by DPP by asserting that it is, “Designed to promote the quality of agency decisions by preserving and encouraging candid discussion between officials.” It has restlessly fought to prove Ripple’s data discovery plea as irrelevant to any claims or defense specific to the lawsuit.

However, the SEC was certain that a complete dismissal of the motion to compel DPP data discovery was unlikely. Henceforth, after filing an opposition against Individual Defendants’ Motion challenging the SEC’s improper assertion of DPP, the SEC also filed Motion to Seal Exhibits. The sealed exhibits encompass parts of Hinman’s deposition, to which the SEC argued that sealing comes as an effort to protect third parties’ identities along with sensitive legal and business data.

Hinman & SEC secrets’ safe under the seal

Recently, a plethora of information was unveiled in a viral article, speculating protection of Hinman’s hidden agenda from public scrutiny through the seal. The allegation piece alleged that Hinman’s ETH comments during the 2018 speech were thoroughly planned, which then became a factor in Ether’s 600 percent price rise to date.

The sealed data allegedly holds evidence against Hinman for planning and plotting the price surge and then consulting with eminent Ethereum Foundation officials and private market participants, to generously invest in ETH before the speech. Furthermore, the sealed documentation also highlights the SEC designations, who knew about and/or participated in editing the speech, including market participants with considerably deep pocket investments or financial interests in Ether.