BitBoy Crypto Alleges Former SEC Boss William Hinman 'Accepted Bribes'

Crypto influencer Ben Armstrong who goes by the handle BitBoy Crypto alleged former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Director William Hinman "certainly accepted bribes."

Armstrong made an intriguing allegation about the SEC over the weekend. "Gotta say when #ETHGate dropped I was about at the same place @IOHK_Charles is. He makes many valid points in thread," the crypto influencer said in a tweet.

"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," he added.

Armstrong's statement was a comment on Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson's opinion on the issue of corruption among officials of the SEC.

The executive mentioned that Ripple's legal counsel should argue that a decentralized token like XRP should not be declared security and they should ask for better regulatory clarity instead of suggesting that the SEC was bribed to label Ethereum a commodity.

"The merits of the case should rest on the absurdity of applying securities regulation to something that has millions of independent participants in more than 100 countries who cannot be controlled by any fiduciary of a single company," Hoskinson said in a Twitter thread.

"Thus it seems totally unnecessary to construct elaborate personal attacks on former and current government employees and also attack Bitcoin for its energy use or Chinese influence. Individual corruption has nothing to do with Howie," he added.

"It's also counterproductive to any claim. It's like saying "well you got away with speeding because you are the cop's brother". Shouldn't one be arguing that the speed limit is wrong so neither party should be given a ticket," the executive continued.

"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," the tweet read.

The SEC tried to withhold documents related to former SEC director Hinman, which contain the speech he delivered at a 2018 summit where he said Bitcoin and Ethereum were not securities. However, U.S. District Judge Analise Torres ordered the commission to release the speech to Ripple.

Meanwhile, Armstrong is busy with the defamation lawsuit he filed against another crypto influencer Erling Mengshoel (Atozy) whom he accused of slander. It may be recalled that Atozy called him a "shady dirtbag who milks his audience for a quick buck rather than giving them genuine advice" in a video that came out on Nov. 9, 2021.