Pro-Ripple lawyer John Deaton came out to defend XRP during a heated debate with Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. During the debate, Deaton defended his role in representing Ripple against the lawsuit filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), saying he wanted to protect retail investors.
“I sued the government because the SEC had done something really bad to small retail investors, and a lifelong Democratic judge agreed with me. I did it all pro-bono, and this token XRP was called legal because of my work,” Deaton stated.
The attorney further noted that after XRP’s win, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen donated $1M in XRP tokens to US Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign team. As ZyCrypto reported, this marked the first documented crypto donation to the Harris campaign.
“If I didn’t do what I did, sue the SEC on behalf of small retail investors, that donation to [Harris] would not have happened,” Deaton added.
Deaton further noted that one reason he became pro-crypto was to support the unbanked and “cut out predatory banks.” He also called out Warren over claims that she planned to build an anti-crypto army, saying there were more pressing issues that the state needed to deal with.
Warren says she is “fine” with crypto
Warren defended her stance on the cryptocurrency industry, saying she was “fine” with people trading crypto. However, she also opined that the industry needed to follow the same rules as banks, stock brokerage companies, and other financial institutions.
The Senator stated that some guidelines needed for the crypto industry include having consumer protection laws while ensuring the industry is not used for terrorism financing, drug trafficking, and human trafficking.
“I am all for having a crypto system if people want to buy and sell crypto. All I want are just some basic fair rules. The same kind of fair rules that apply to all our financial institutions,” Warren stated.
However, Warren alluded to Deaton being overly biased towards crypto after receiving donations from the industry and stating that most of his wealth was held in digital assets.
The recent issues raised during the debate shed light on the growing debate around cryptocurrencies as the US election draws near. Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump has made multiple efforts to appeal to the crypto community, including plans to have a US Bitcoin strategic reserve. Harris has also vowed to support the creation of a crypto regulatory framework.
