The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has finally released the long-awaited report on Bill Hinman. After years of investigation and public debate, Bill Hinman, former Director of Corporation Finance at the SEC, is now cleared of wrongdoing. The investigation came after a group called Empower Oversight accused Hinman of helping his old law firm and Ethereum while working at the SEC. However, the SEC’s report found no evidence of misconduct. Still, critics argue that important questions remain unanswered. How It All Started Hinman had worked at a law firm, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (STB), for 16 years before joining the SEC in 2017. This law firm was a part of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance. 2018 Hinman made headlines with a speech stating that Ethereum is not a security . This statement became controversial as it contradicted the SEC’s later actions against other crypto companies, like Ripple. Empower Oversight later raised concerns that Hinman’s speech was influenced by his ties to STB and that it might have benefited Ethereum. In 2021, the group filed a request to access communication records between Hinman and his former firm. The SEC Report Clears Hinman On April 10, the SEC’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) released its findings, which cleared Hinman of any wrongdoing. The report stated that Hinman did not break any laws or ethics rules. According to the SEC, Hinman had no crypto investments, as revealed in his 2021 financial disclosure. Also, his retirement plan with STB was locked in at a fixed rate before he joined the agency. The SEC also said Hinman did not write the Ethereum speech alone. A group of SEC staff helped prepare it, and others at the agency reviewed it. So, it was not just his personal opinion. The report emphasized that Hinman followed SEC ethics rules and did not personally profit from Ethereum’s growth. EMPOWER Questions the Report’s Findings Despite the SEC’s conclusions, EMPOWER criticized the investigation for not addressing key issues. Jason Foster, founder of EMPOWER, argued that the report did not fully look into whether Hinman had any inappropriate contact with his old law firm while working at the SEC. Foster also pointed out the issue of selective enforcement. He questioned why Ethereum was classified as non-secure while other cryptocurrencies, like Ripple’s XRP, were targeted by lawsuits. This issue has caused an uproar in the crypto community. Even though the SEC-Ripple class action is officially over , Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer, said the company will continue to push for fair regulations. The XRP community believes the SEC acted unfairly. They say Ethereum was given special treatment while XRP was targeted. Some even clashed with Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson over the issue. The post SEC Clears Bill Hinman in Ethics Investigation, But Concerns Still Remain appeared first on TheCoinrise.com .
