John Deaton, known as the “pro-XRP lawyer” on Crypto Twitter, has had a fascinating life journey that took him from childhood dreams of becoming a rapper to serving in the United States Marines, to representing the XRP community in court. Though his rapper aspirations didn’t come to fruition, John Deaton’s Twitter following of 260,000 would make many aspiring rappers envious. Deaton has become a legend among the XRP community over the past couple of years, fighting in their corner after the United States Securities and Exchange Commission sued Ripple, alleging it had issued unregistered securities.
Deaton strongly believes that the “innocent holders” of XRP deserve a knight in shining armor standing up for them in the same way Ripple has a squad of lawyers fighting for the company. When the Ripple lawyers failed to do so, Deaton put out a call on Twitter and gathered 76,000 signatures from XRP holders worldwide to let Deaton represent the XRP community in court. Further, Deaton’s fame grew as he offered an informed legal take on what can often be opaque and confusing legal maneuvering in the court case.
Deaton’s follower count has shot up exponentially ever since he was granted permission by U.S. District Court Judge Analisa Torres to write a brief on behalf of XRP holders in March 2021, collecting anywhere between 3,000 to 20,000 each month since then. Judge Torres allowed him to file a motion to intervene. She granted him amicus status and ignored the SEC’s personal attacks on him as she wanted to hear his perspective.
Besides, Deaton is known to be aggressive in his support for XRP, to the extent that many believe he’s representing XRP. However, he is more of a Bitcoin and Ethereum guy. Talking about his content on Twitter, Deaton says, “a lot of my content is about the war on crypto,” while also sprinkling his spicy thoughts on government regulation and throwing shade at the SEC from time to time, too.
Deaton has taken on some of the biggest names in crypto, with different levels of beef. He famously went head-to-head with Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin for his dismissive comments about XRP, stood his ground against Brad Garlinghouse’s alpha-dog attitude, and now avoids him, and is generally supportive of Ripple’s CEO, Jesse Powell’s thoughts on XRP.
Deaton is of the opinion that new legislation to clean up digital asset regulation in the U.S. is unlikely to happen soon. Though he’s “not a price person,” he thinks Ripple winning the court case would give it a significant boost. While he tips a strong future for major cryptocurrencies, he’s not sure about the 10,000 other digital currencies. “The crypto space is in for more pain. In a couple of years from now, there will be some survivors. Bitcoin will survive, Ethereum will survive, XRP will survive,” he says, adding that “the thousands of tokens that are garbage” will probably fail.
In conclusion, John Deaton’s journey from pursuing his passion for music to becoming a prominent figure in the world of crypto and representing the XRP community in court showcases his resilience and determination. His informed legal take on different matters provides the community with a better understanding, and his Twitter rants and beef with different personalities offer a light-hearted perspective on the intense world of crypto.
