The company behind the XRP cryptocurrency, Ripple, has suffered a setback in its legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as one of its attorneys, Kylie Chiseul Kim, has resigned from the case.
Kim, who joined Ripple’s legal team in July 2022, filed a letter in the Southern District of New York on May 24, 2023, stating that she would no longer be associated with Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick, P.L.L.C., the law firm representing Ripple. She did not give any reason for her departure.
Kim’s exit comes at a critical juncture in the lawsuit, which was initiated by the SEC in December 2020. The regulator accused Ripple and its current and former CEOs, Brad Garlinghouseformat=png&nam and Chris Larsen, of raising over $1.3 billion in unregistered securities offerings of XRP since 2012.
Ripple has denied the allegations and argued that XRP is not a security but a digital asset that facilitates cross-border payments. The company has also claimed that the SEC failed to provide fair notice to the market about its position on XRP and that the agency’s actions have harmed millions of XRP holders.
The lawsuit has attracted widespread attention from the crypto community as it could have significant implications for the future of digital assets in the U.S. Many XRP holders have intervened in the case as third-party defendants, seeking to protect their interests and rights.
Hinman documents, which relate to a 2018 speech given by former SEC director William Hinman. In his speech, Hinman stated that Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, was not a security due to its decentralized nature.
Ripple hopes that these documents will prove that the SEC had a similar view on XRP or at least did not have a clear stance on its status. The court has ordered the SEC to produce these documents by June 2023.
