KEY POINTS
- Deaton recently filed to appear as counsel for Coinbase customers in a case filed by the SEC
- The trial lawyer revealed this week that Warren is asking for support after learning Deaton received backing from crypto figures
- A growing number of crypto voters have expressed support for Deaton, including the Winklevoss twins
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has held her seat for more than a decade, becoming a prominent voice in the Democratic Party's liberal wing and pioneering the political movement on cryptocurrency regulation. As she runs for her third Senate term, trial attorney John Deaton is on a mission toward unseating the veteran policymaker, who has signaled efforts to build an "anti-crypto army."
Deep roots in crypto
Deaton is known largely by the $XRP community after he filed in 2021 to represent thousands of $XRP owners in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) case against digital asset giant Ripple. At the time, he challenged the Wall Street regulator's claim that the token was a security.
Just this year, he once again offered a hand to the crypto community, this time in the SEC's case against crypto exchange titan Coinbase. He filed in March to appear as counsel for over 4,000 Coinbase customers about a month after a judge rejected the exchange's motion to dismiss the SEC's complaint.
Warren, on the other hand, has been building an "anti-crypto army."
I’m in this fight to put our government on the side of working families. Join our re-election campaign today: https://t.co/KuZwvrwkqT pic.twitter.com/fCUcqE9PZM
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) March 29, 2023
Warren concerned over rising 'crypto lawyer'?
On Wednesday, Deaton took to X to reveal that Warren sent out a text message that stated: "It's Elizabeth Warren. We recently found that a Super PAC supporting my Republican opponent (a crypto lawyer from Rhode Island recruited to run against me) raked in $2 million from three massive donations – from two crypto billionaires and one big crypto firm. It's absolutely critical we respond to this Super PAC's fundraising with a strong surge of support."
🚨 ALERT:@ewarren just sent out a text message saying the following:
— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) August 14, 2024
“It's Elizabeth Warren. We recently found out that a Super PAC supporting my Republican opponent (a crypto lawyer from Rhode Island recruited to run against me) raked in $2 million from three massive…
Warren has yet to deny or confirm whether she indeed sent the text message.
Deaton went on to clarify that the "only time" he was recruited to do anything in his state was "to serve my country" in the U.S. Marine Corps. He went on to urge the crypto community to help him "keep the pressure" on Warren. "She's worried for a reason and desperately trying to outraise me," he added.
Crypto advocates detect Warren's 'alarm'
The crypto industry is picking up Warren's purported concerns over Deaton's rise, especially among crypto voters. Prominent financial services lawyer James Murphy, aka MetaLawMan, said the Democratic senator "is alarmed that people who she has been attacking with her anti-crypto army are now defending themselves."
Senator Warren is alarmed that people who she has been attacking with her Anti-Crypto Army are now defending themselves.
— MetaLawMan (@MetaLawMan) August 14, 2024
She should be worrying about the voters of Massachusetts who are tired of her pro-inflation, pro-illegal immigration, anti-freedom agenda.@DeatonforSenate https://t.co/admF2TwGlR
Criminal defense lawyer and crypto advocate @DeFiDefenseLaw said he was looking forward to calling Deaton "senator" soon.
Well done John. Look forward the calling Senator Deaton soon
— Carlo⚖️.eth (@DeFiDefenseLaw) August 14, 2024
Well-followed $XRP holder Alex Cobb said Warren is now "trembling" and is using the "rich buddies" argument against Deaton to get more support for her re-election bid.
She loves the “omg his rich buddies😲” arguement
— Cobb (@AlexCobb_) August 14, 2024
She’s trembling and scared love to see it
Deaton gets pro-crypto backing
The founder of the On The Chain podcast, @stephenchip, made a song dedicated to Deaton, whom Stephen believes is the "unstoppable candidate who will triumph over Elizabeth Warren."
Deaton is the Hero We Need!
— Chip – onthechain.io (@stephenchip) August 16, 2024
Here’s is my tribute to John Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1), the unstoppable candidate who will triumph over Elizabeth Warren.
Verse 1:
In the heart of Detroit, where the streets were tough,
John Deaton grew up, life was more than rough.
With a single mom,… pic.twitter.com/31yfGm12Dl
Last month, Gemini exchange co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss each donated $500,000 in Bitcoin to Deaton's campaign. Tyler said Warren is "public enemy number one" in the crypto space, and Deaton is "the only candidate" who can unseat Warren.
I also just donated $500k in bitcoin (8 BTC) to @DeatonforSenate to help him unseat @SenWarren as a U.S. Senator.
— Cameron Winklevoss (@cameron) July 18, 2024
Here’s the TL;DR — John Deaton is:
Pro-Bitcoin
Pro-Crypto
Pro-Business
And he will put an end to Elizabeth Warren’s war on crypto. Onward! https://t.co/JgOF6eBTkc
Federal Election Commission (FEC) records showed that the Commonwealth Unity Fund super PAC designated $450,000 to the Deaton campaign and allocated $500,000 in a media buy for the lawyer's ad-related efforts this month.
Ripple was reported to have donated $1 million to the said super PAC in July to help push Deaton's campaign forward.
🚨SCOOP: @Ripple has donated $1M to the Commonwealth Unity Fund, a new super PAC set up by attorney James Murphy aka @MetaLawMan, to unseat @SenWarren and elect @JohnEDeaton1 as Massachusetts’ next Senator. Murphy donated $50K.
— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) July 15, 2024
More details and story to come. pic.twitter.com/32kadpAkE1
