Cryptocurrency backer John Deaton is off to a good start, trying to oust Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren from her parliamentary seat – at least when it comes to fundraising.
John Deaton’s campaign fundraising
As Fox Business’ Eleanor Terret reports, the lawyer turned Senate candidate raised $1.36 million for his campaign in the first quarter, compared to Warren’s $1.1 million.
“In line with his campaign, Deaton received donations from prominent figures in the crypto industry, such as Ripple executives Brad Garlinghouse, Chris Larsen, Cameron, Tyler Winklevoss, Charles Hoskinson, Jameson Lopp and Anthony Scaramucci,” Terret wrote on X.
According to Politico, donors including Garlinghouse, Larsen, Scaramucci and the Winklevoss twins contributed the maximum amount of $6600 to his campaign.
Much of Deaton’s corporate financing is in line with Warren’s prediction, who warned her supporters in February in anticipation of Deaton’s campaign announcement. “I’m not afraid, but it does mean that now we have to prepare to compete with funding from powerful special interest groups, Wall Street and the Republican Party,” she – she said at the time.
Deaton’s history in the cryptocurrency industry is no secret. He is best known for representing 75,000 XRP holders in a lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that closed last year, which mostly ended in Ripple‘s favor.
He also criticized the SEC for its harsh treatment of the cryptocurrency industry in several other high-profile lawsuits, including a battle with Grayscale, the issuer of the world’s largest bitcoin ETF. The outcome of that lawsuit ultimately forced the SEC to allow Bitcoin ETFs to be traded, which Elizabeth Warren loudly condemned.
Is Elizabeth Warren worried?
Beyond cryptocurrencies, Warren and Deaton fiercely disagree on other partisan issues: student loan forgiveness, the migrant crisis and the Federal Reserve’s loose monetary policy.
“Throughout my life I have beaten all odds as the weaker player, and I will do it again. The only difference is that this time the world will witness it,” Deaton wrote on X.
