‘BitBoy Crypto’ accuses former SEC director of taking bribes to classify ETH as a commodity

In the midst of a protracted legal dispute where the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sues blockchain company Ripple over the alleged illegal sale of XRP tokens, fresh allegations have been made against the watchdog.

“BitBoy Crypto” YouTube channel owner Ben Armstrong has recently attacked William Hinman, the former director of the SEC, for allegedly receiving bribes to classify Ethereum (ETH) as a commodity in his tweet on October 9.

Gotta say when #ETHGate dropped I was about at the same place @IOHK_Charles is. He makes many valid points in thread.

However, William Hinman certainly accepted bribes. It’s CLEAR.

My 3 biggest holdings are $XRP, $ADA, & $ETH and I refuse to take sides. They all win.

— Bitboy Crypto (@Bitboy_Crypto) October 9, 2022

William Hinman “certainly accepted bribes,” he claimed. Moreover, he went on to state that he “refuses to take sides” and that his “3 biggest holdings are XRP, ADA, & ETH.”

Did SEC receive a bribe to overlook Ethereum?

Armstrong cited the comments made by Cardano (ADA) founder Charles Hoskinson in support of his accusations. Hoskinson had already addressed this issue in a series of tweets. He said, among other things, that Ripple should concentrate on advocating for more regulatory clarity rather than claiming that the SEC was paid off to overlook Ethereum:

“Analyzing the allegations of corruption seems to imply that Ethereum should also be sued by the SEC but wasn’t because of relationships. But how does this in any way solve the larger issue of cryptocurrencies being forced into a framework that makes no sense?”

Meanwhile, the SEC’s attempt to conceal the documents pertaining to former Division Director William Hinman was rejected by a US judge in the SEC v. Ripple lawsuit. These records refer to his 2018 summit speech, in which he claimed that Ethereum and Bitcoin (BTC) were not securities.

Notably, Armstrong is already occupied with the defamation lawsuit against fellow crypto YouTuber Erling Mengshoel, a.k.a. “Atozy,” whom he accused of slandering in a video released on November 9, 2021. However, according to recent developments, BitBoy Crypto has dropped the lawsuit against Atozy after facing major criticism from the crypto community.