John Deaton Calls Out Bill Hinman, the SEC’s Former Director of the Division of Corporation Finance, for Gaslighting the XRP Ruling

John Deaton, XRP holders' lawyer in the legal battle between Ripple Labs Inc. and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has called out Bill Hinman

John Deaton, the lawyer representing XRP holders in the Ripple Labs Inc. class action lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has accused Bill Hinman, the agency's former Director of the Division of Corporation Finance, of continuing to "gaslight" the XRP community.

Deaton's comments stem from Hinman's participation in a panel at the Ondo Summit, where he discussed the SEC's approach to regulating digital assets. Hinman's comments, which focused on the agency's decision to not pursue enforcement actions against retail traders of XRP on secondary platforms, have been met with skepticism by some XRP enthusiasts.

In a series of tweets, Deaton highlighted Hinman's past connections to entities with ties to Ethereum (ETH), including his role as a profit-sharing partner with individuals representing the coin and ETH companies.

Deaton pointed to Hinman's June 14, 2018 speech, in which he stated that BTC and ETH were not securities, a move that placed the coins on par with early Bitcoin and benefited mining companies like Canaan.

The lawyer also noted that Hinman's speech came at a time when XRP was the third-largest digital asset by market capitalization. However, despite the coin meeting the Howey Test criteria for being an investment contract, Hinman's comments excluded XRP from the agency's enforcement actions.

Deaton's comments follow a recent statement by Ondo Finance, which announced that XRP would not be gaslighted at the summit. However, Hinman's presence at the event and his comments on the SEC's approach to regulating digital assets have sparked discussions among the XRP community.

Despite the ongoing legal battle and the SEC's stance on XRP, the coin has seen significant growth in the past year. Now ranked as the fourth-largest digital currency, XRP has maintained a 366% growth rate.

With conversations emerging about adding XRP to the national digital asset stockpile being built by the U.S. government and the potential for XRP to benefit from the operational growth of the RLUSD stablecoin, the asset remains one to watch in the market.

Moreover, with the SEC now looking to dismiss non-fraud crypto lawsuits, including the Ripple case, the implications for XRP could be substantial, potentially leading to a strong performance this year.