Tag: john e deaton

Pro-XRP Lawyer Reveals Why A $20 Million Settlement Is A Total Victory For Ripple
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Ripple is now well on its approach to putting its extended legal battle with the SEC behind it, and a settlement is finally in sight. Prominent lawyer and XRP supporter John E. Deaton recently contributed his two cents, noting how a settlement would be the best case for Ripple. According to the attorney, it is a 99.9% victory if Ripple ends up paying $20 million or less in settlement.

A Lengthy Legal Battle Almost Getting To An End

The legal tussle between the US Securities and Exchange Commission and payment giant Ripple has dragged on for quite a while. The SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple Labs in 2020, alleging that Ripple’s XRP token is an unregistered security. This shocking lawsuit sent shockwaves through the crypto community and XRP’s price growth remained stunted until the second part of this year.

Ripple secured partial victory for XRP in court, as the sales of the crypto to retail investors was deemed not to be sales of securities. Although federal Judge Analisa Torres rejected the SEC’s motion to appeal the Ripple ruling, the case is still in court as the category of the early sale of XRP to institutional investors is still yet to be determined. An order on the SEC and Ripple’s request to propose the next steps on the judgement regarding institutional sales of XRP was recently approved.

The consensus among industry experts is that Ripple has won a partial victory with a score of 50-50, and that the next stage will be to reach a settlement. On the other hand, Deaton is of the opinion that the judge ruled “more like 90-10 in Ripple’s favor.”

The people who’ve argued that the SEC got a 50-50 victory in the @Ripple case are 💯 wrong. It was more like 90-10 in Ripple’s favor. If Ripple ends up paying $20M or less it’s a 99.9% legal victory. https://t.co/Xe6SYBiTCJ

— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) November 4, 2023

Deaton made this known in a reply on social media to another post about the SEC’s setback in SEC v Govil. According to Deaton, a $20 million settlement payment or less would be a huge win for the blockchain company. It’s important to note that Deaton has suggested in the past that the SEC wants a $770 million settlement.

Another loss this week for the SEC – the streak continues. The 2d Circuit in SEC v Govil held that the SEC can’t ask for a crippling disgorgement award w/o first proving that “investors” suffered actual financial harm. In other words, no harm, no foul.

— Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) November 3, 2023

The SEC has since dropped its separate lawsuit against Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, and Co-founder, Chris Larsen. However, Larsen believes the regulator should be held accountable for its baseless witch hunt and the chaos which it created.
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XRP market cap currently at $34.542 billion. Chart: TradingView.com
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Precedent For Future Crypto Lawsuits

The final outcome of Ripple’s legal battle with the SEC will have major implications for the entire crypto industry. It would provide clarity on how the SEC determines if a digital asset qualifies as a security.

As of right now, XRP is the only crypto with regulatory clearance in the US. On the other hand, executives of SafeMoon were recently arrested by the US Department Of Justice for perpetrating a massive fraud on its investors.

Featured image from Shutterstock
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Scott Matherson

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November 5, 2023
Pro-XRP Lawyer Deaton Exposes Clayton’s Agenda Vs. Ripple

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John E Deaton, a prominent lawyer known for representing XRP holders and vocalizing his criticisms of Jay Clayton’s tenure as the SEC Chairman, recently took to Twitter to highlight what he believes to be glaring conflicts of interest surrounding the SEC’s enforcement action against Ripple, its CEO Brad Garlinghouse, and co-founder Chris Larsen.

Deaton tweeted, “When the XRP case was filed on Clayton’s last day in charge at the SEC, I immediately pointed out the massive conflicts of interest by him voting to bring an enforcement action against Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen.”

This tweet comes in the wake of a statement made by Brian Costello, who lambasted the SEC’s role in allegedly concealing financial misdeeds connected to Chinese executives.

Costello remarked that under both Clayton and current chairman Gary Gensler’s leadership, the SEC may have overlooked potential misdemeanors tied to specific Chinese business magnates, singling out Neil Shen from Sequoia.

Costello stated:

The SEC’s role in hiding Chinese executives, like Neil Shen from Sequoia, and other US capital market crimes has played a significant role in normalizing China’s frauds. Gary Gensler and Jay Clayton, you had an opportunity to prioritize our nation’s defenders, but your personal interests prevailed.

The Hidden Agenda By Clayton And Gensler

Peeling back the layers of professional entanglements, Deaton unveiled potential biases arising from Clayton’s affiliations. He underscored Clayton’s association with Patrick Berarducci of the prestigious Sullivan & Cromwell law firm. Intriguingly, Berarducci had also served as Deputy GC at Consensys, a pivotal entity in the Ethereum ecosystem, and as Co-Chair of The Brooklyn Project.

Highlighting these intricate connections, Deaton noted, “One of Clayton’s partners at Sullivan & Cromwell, Patrick Berarducci, was deputy general counsel at Consensys and co-chair of The Brooklyn Project, which claimed to be building an alliance with the SEC related to crypto.”

As Deaton highlights, other lawyers from Sullivan & Cromwell also went to work at Consensys. Moreover, the law firm not only represented Ethereum’s Consensys but “also brokered the deal when Consensys acquired JP Morgan’s Quorum and the JPMCoin. Clayton & Hinman, along with Hinman’s partner Leming Chen, brought the Alibaba IPO to market. Simpson Thacher’s Chen went to Alipay.”

Further complicating matters, Deaton draws attention to the spirited rivalry between cryptocurrencies, underscoring the intense competition between XRP and ETH. He reminisces, “XRP & ETH battled each other for the #2 spot behind BTC for years.”

Such rivalries, when juxtaposed against Clayton’s professional affiliations, beget concerns of impartiality in enforcement decisions involving Ripple. The lawsuit against Ripple may have set the company back years – a head start that may have yielded major advantages for Consensus and Ethereum.

Challenging Clayton’s actions head-on, Deaton asserted, “At his confirmation, Clayton agreed he would be conflicted from voting AGAINST an enforcement action involving one of S&C’s clients. But, paradoxically, he voted FOR an action AGAINST Ripple, a formidable adversary of his law firm’s client.”

Pro-XRP Lawyer Uncovers More Ties

Deaton doesn’t stop there though. He delves into Clayton’s affiliations post-SEC, emphasizing his association with entities like Apollo Group and One River, which have substantial stakes in cryptocurrencies. Most notably, Deaton pointed out, “Clayton joined One River after it made a $1B bet on BTC & ETH, the only two Crypto assets given regulatory clarity by Hinman’s speech.”

Moreover, Deaton does not hold back on William Hinman, former director of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, suggesting infractions and conflicts during his term. As Bitcoinist reported, William Hinman is in the crosshairs of the XRP community for his documented strong ties to Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin and Joseph Lubin prior to his famous speech.

Expounding further, Deaton accentuates potential collusion, indicating a meeting between Clayton and Gensler, his successor. He provocatively ponders, “Why would you file a case of this magnitude on your last day and then leave it for the next administration to deal with? Or was this a coordinated effort?”

At press time, XRP traded at $0.5236.

XRP price rises above the 200D EMA, 1-day chart | Source: XRPUSD on TradingView.com

Featured image from Medium, chart from TradingView.com

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Jake Simmons

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October 23, 2023
Pro-XRP Lawyer Deaton Blasts SEC For Millions Wasted

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Prominent pro-XRP lawyer John Deaton has launched a scathing critique of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in light of the regulatory body’s actions against blockchain company LBRY Inc. Deaton, renowned for representing XRP holders in the Ripple-SEC lawsuit, marked the regulatory body’s conduct as an exhibit of overreach.

“The LBRY case should be taught in law schools across the country,” Deaton asserted on X (formerly Twitter), emphasizing its significance not just in applying “the Howey Test to modern-day blockchain technologies and crypto,” but also as a “specific highlight [of] SEC overreach.”

Pro-XRP Lawyer Deaton Slams SEC

Elaborating further on his stance, Deaton criticized the SEC’s choice to pursue LBRY Inc., a relatively smaller entity, despite there being larger, more questionable activities to scrutinize within the crypto sector. He remarked that the regulatory body “picked a small American Company based out of New Hampshire, threatened to bankrupt it during the investigation, and then proceeded to bankrupt it – in a case where no fraud or misrepresentation occurred.”

Meanwhile, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has seemingly turned a blind eye to the real scammers in the crypto ecosystem. Deaton cites “FTX, Celsius Network, Voyager, Luna, Genesis, [other] pump and dumps” as potential targets for the US agency that it could have investigated and stopped to protect US retail investors. Instead, all of these companies caused a massive amount of damage.

Deaton’s tweet came in response to an announcement by LBRY Inc. Marked by a tone of resignation, they unveiled their decision to cease operations amidst unsustainable debts and continuous challenges posed by the SEC. The firm was initially slapped with a $22 million fine, which was later mitigated to $111,000 by the SEC, in cognizance of LBRY’s financial duress.

Following this, the company withdrew its appeal against the SEC and commenced its wind-down procedures, with all executives, employees, and board members tendering their resignations.

Commenting on the LBRY case’s broader implications, Deaton highlighted the expenditure of “millions of dollars” resulting in a $130,000 fine, painting a picture of inefficiency and failure on the part of the SEC.

His condemnation didn’t just pertain to the financial aspects but extended towards the regulatory approach and discernment exercised by the SEC in choosing its battles within the crypto landscape:

After millions of dollars were wasted, the SEC got a $130K fine. This case alone proves the SEC is a broken, failed and inept agency.

Remarkably, the conclusion of LBRY’s journey has elicited a mixture of disappointment and resilience from the crypto community. Despite the unfolding adversities, community members have conveyed their willingness to sustain LBRY’s open-source blockchain network, Odysee, showcasing the persistent spirit of the decentralized ethos.

At press time, XRP was trading at $ and eyed a daily above the 200-day EMA ($0.5172)

XRP price sits just below the 200D EMA, 1-day chart | Source: XRPUSD on TradingView.com

Featured image from Crypto Economy, chart from TradingView.com

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Jake Simmons

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October 20, 2023