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In a heated debate with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, pro-Ripple lawyer John Deaton came out in defense of XRP. During the debate, Deaton defended his role representing Ripple against lawsuits brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), saying he wanted to protect retail investors.
“I sued the government because the SEC did really bad things to small individual investors, and a judge who was a lifelong Democrat agreed with me. I did it all for free. However, because of my work, I was told that this token, XRP, was legal,” Deaton said.
The lawyer also noted that after XRP’s victory, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen donated $1 million in XRP tokens to U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign team. As ZyCrypto reported, this was the first documented cryptocurrency donation to the Harris campaign.
Deaton added, “If I had not taken the action to sue the SEC on behalf of small individual investors, the donations[to Harris]would not have occurred.”
Deaton also said that one of the reasons he became a cryptocurrency advocate was to help the unbanked and “take out predatory banks.” He also criticized Warren over her claims that she plans to create an anti-crypto army, saying there are more pressing issues the state needs to address.
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Warren says he’s ‘okay’ with cryptocurrencies
Warren defended her position on the crypto industry, saying she has “no problem” with people trading cryptocurrencies. However, he also opined that the industry needs to follow the same rules as banks, brokerages and other financial institutions.
The senator said the necessary guidelines for the cryptocurrency industry include enacting consumer protection laws while ensuring the industry is not used for terrorist financing, drug trafficking, and human trafficking. .
“If people want to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, I’m all for having a crypto system. All I want is basic, fair rules that apply to all financial institutions. The same kind of fair rules,” Warren said.
But Warren said most of his wealth is held in digital assets, implying that Deaton was overly biased toward cryptocurrencies due to donations from the industry.
Recent issues raised during the debate highlight the growing debate surrounding cryptocurrencies as the US election approaches. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has made various efforts to appeal to the crypto community, including plans to hold the US Bitcoin Strategic Reserve. Harris also vowed to support the creation of a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies.
