Regulation
Reading time: ~2 m
Newly published meeting schedule former SEC director of corporate finance William Hinman continues to cause controversy. It has been noted that Hinman has focused more on Ethereum (ETH) than other crypto assets.
Hinman had four scheduled meetings with Ethereum officials between 2017 and 2018. While it is still unknown what was discussed at these meetings, these events reinforced the notion that Hinman was unfairly targeting a leading crypto project.
Attorney Deaton’s Opinion on Hinman’s Schedule
Attorney John Deaton, founder of Crypto Law, recently told Fox Business that the schedule of the former SEC director indicates that Ethereum had exclusive access to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Schedule records demonstrate that Ethereum founders and investors had exclusive access to SEC leadership,” Deaton said.
However, he cannot say the same about other crypto projects, as Hinman has scheduled meetings with other digital currencies less often than with Ethereum.
« It was a very exclusive club and didn’t have Ripple or XRP in it. », — Deaton added.
Hinman’s relationship with Ethereum
Notably, throughout the lawsuit between Ripple and the SEC, Hinman’s controversial 2018 speech declaring Ethereum is not a security, was the main topic of discussion. Hinman is said to have made this statement because he had a personal interest in Ethereum.
Prior to joining the SEC, Hinman was a partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, a member of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA).
EEA was created with the sole purpose of promoting Ethereum as an enterprise solution. While Hinman was still in charge of business at the SEC, he met with Simpson Thacher employees even though he was told the meeting violated SEC rules.
Meanwhile, after leaving the SEC Hinman received over $9 million arrived from Simpson Thacher.
#Ethereum #exclusive #access #SEC #leadership #Ripple
