From childhood desires of changing into a rapper to serving in the US Marines, to now being “the pro-XRP lawyer” on Crypto Twitter, John Deaton has had an eventful life.
Whereas his dream of changing into a rapper didn’t work out, John Deaton’s 260,000 Twitter following would make many up-and-coming rappers envious.
“That was about 10 years earlier than Eminem got here out — I didn’t have that stage of college,” Deaton says of his music biz desires.
He has change into a legend among the many XRP military over the previous couple of years, preventing of their nook after the United States Securities and Trade Fee sued Ripple, alleging it had issued unregistered securities.
Deaton has a robust perception that the “harmless holders” of XRP deserve a knight in shining armor standing up for them in the identical approach Ripple has a squad of attorneys preventing for the corporate.
“I used to be butting heads with the Ripple attorneys… with what they need to be doing to guard people, however the Ripple attorneys are defending Garlinghouse and different executives at Ripple.”
Deaton put out a name on Twitter and gathered 76,000 signatures from XRP holders worldwide to let Deaton characterize the XRP neighborhood in courtroom.
“All of them joined on a kind desirous to be heard within the lawsuit, basically, saying, ‘Sure, you’ll be able to converse and advocate for me,’” he says.
“Seventy-six thousand folks, 143 nations; from Afghanistan, Russia, Ukraine, Australia, Zimbabwe, and of the 76,000, 52% are from the US.”
What led to Twitter fame?
Deaton’s fame grew as he supplied an knowledgeable authorized tackle what can typically be opaque and complicated authorized maneuvering within the courtroom case. It actually helps that he’s often fairly optimistic about Ripple’s possibilities of beating the fees. His follower rely has shot up exponentially ever since he was granted permission by U.S. District Court docket Decide Analisa Torres to write down a quick on behalf of XRP holders in March 2021, amassing anyplace between 3,000 to twenty,000 every month since then.
Deaton’s feed in regards to the case helped him break the 250,000-follower milestone on Twitter — and it’s clear from the protection that he generates he’s adopted by many crypto journalists, too.
What to anticipate on his Twitter
“A number of my content material is in regards to the struggle on crypto,” Deaton says, whereas additionally sprinkling his spicy ideas on authorities regulation and throwing shade on the SEC on occasion, too.
However in fact, Deaton is greatest identified for his aggressive assist for XRP, to the extent that many individuals suppose he’s really representing XRP. Humorous factor is, he’s extra of a Bitcoin and Ethereum man.
“After I began off, lots of people referred to as me the ‘XRP lawyer.’ The truth is, XRP was a small funding for me; I used to be 10 occasions extra into Bitcoin and 4 occasions extra into Ethereum.”
Robust beef: SEC
The SEC spat the dummy in a 2021 courtroom submitting relating to Deaton’s mock cross-examination of then-SEC Chairman Jay Clayton in a YouTube video.
Deaton sliced and diced Clayton’s varied interviews about crypto laws and Ripple, hilariously inserting clips of himself because the interviewer, grilling Clayton with a sequence of questions.
The SEC cried to the decide and dobbed on Deaton for teasing Clayton on-line.
The submitting claimed the video made “many inflammatory statements, together with about supposed drug use, and that Deaton may need to stroll over and [profanity] out of Chairman Clayton.”
Avoiding beef: Brad Garlinghouse
Deaton remembered how Ripple boss Brad Garlinghouse tried to alpha-dog him at a crypto convention. Deaton says Garlinghouse has a singular high quality, the type of charisma that made everybody wish to be round him and shake his hand. Nonetheless, Deaton walked proper previous him and “wasn’t going to speak to him.”
Garlinghouse enthusiastically yelled out, “John, I’m Brad Garlinghouse” they usually shook arms.
Garlinghouse cheekily adopted up with “no photos” and Deaton replied, “Hell, I’m not even going to speak to you.”
Deaton says the very last thing he would need floating across the web is photographs of him and Garlinghouse, as he’s performing independently for the buyers, and folks already suppose that he’s working “on behalf of Ripple.”
Minor beef: Vitalik Buterin
Deaton has taken on Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin over his public feedback about XRP.
Buterin was decidedly unimpressed when Ripple tried to pull Ethereum into the securities case and referred to as Bitcoin and Ether “the 2 Chinese language-controlled digital currencies.” He tweeted that XRP was a “shitcoin” and that it had “misplaced their proper to safety” consequently.
Deaton stood up for XRP holders in an extended thread calling Buterin’s tweet a “shameful and disgusting remark.”
“I don’t care about Ripple, in the identical approach, I don’t care about Vitalik [Buterin], I don’t personal Ethereum as a result of I like Vitalik, I personal it as a result of I like Ethereum.”
Deaton signed off the sequence of tweets directed at Buterin with a bit of bit of recommendation for the “younger man.”
Twitter likes
“I observe the massive names, however I take it as a praise that [Binance founder] CZ follows me, in addition to [Kraken founder] Jesse Powell, Brad Garlinghouse, amongst different massive names,” Deaton notes.
On a number of events, Deaton has been seen quoting Powell’s ideas on XRP.
Given his reputation on Crypto Twitter, Deaton has come to anticipate some encounters with wacky characters.
“I feel Crypto Twitter, it’s important to get previous the crazies, however there are certifiable folks on there; it has been main for the entire XRP case.”
The longer term?
Deaton ideas that new laws to scrub up digital asset regulation within the U.S. is unlikely to occur quickly.
“I feel the folks on the market saying that regulation will come from Congress, that isn’t going to occur throughout the subsequent two years,” Deaton says.
And whereas he’s “not a value particular person,” he thinks Ripple successful the courtroom case would give it a big increase.
“Do I feel it goes to $100 after they win? No. Do I feel it goes up considerably from $0.45? Sure. I might see it going to earlier all-time highs.”
However whereas he ideas a robust future for the foremost cryptocurrencies, he’s unsure in regards to the 10,000 different digital currencies.
“The crypto house is in for extra ache. In a few years from now, there might be some survivors. Bitcoin will survive, Ethereum will survive, XRP will survive,” Deaton says, including that “the 1000’s of tokens which are rubbish” will in all probability fail.
