Pro-crypto lawyer considers Senate bid against Elizabeth Warren

The Boston Globe reports that lawyer John Deaton is weighing a possible bid

February 15, 2024 03:01 pm

Senator Elizabeth Warren | Rich Koele/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., may be close to drawing a crypto-friendly political challenger.

The Boston Globe reports that John Deaton is weighing a bid for the Massachusetts Republican Party’s nomination for US Senate. Warren is seeking a third term in office, having won her seat in 2012, and will face voters this November.

The Globe cited comment from Jim Conroy, a Massachusetts Republican political operative, who said that Deaton is giving a possible run a “serious look.”

Deaton is the founder and host of CryptoLaw, which according to its website is a “clearinghouse of information, news and analysis on key US legal and regulatory developments for digital asset holders.”

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In a series of blog posts, Deaton has attacked the US government’s approach to crypto oversight, with particular ire aimed at the Securities and Exchange Commission under Chairman Gary Gensler.

Deaton previously filed an amicus brief on behalf of retail holders of XRP in the SEC’s long-running lawsuit against Ripple. Following a court decision last year that was largely favorable to Ripple, Deaton wrote in a Bloomberg Law op-ed that the agency “forgot its primary mission is to protect investors.”

Warren was in the news elsewhere Thursday with a report that her office had honored the 15th anniversary of Bitcoin’s launch and the network’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. This was apparently conducted through the Capitol Flag Program, an initiative allowing legislative offices to submit requests that flags be flown in honor of special events and organizations.

Members of the public can submit requests to their representatives for flag raises, according to the program’s official website. Warren’s website notes that flag requests may take longer at present because of reduced operating capacity in the US Capitol Flag Operations Office.

Bitcoin Magazine — which claimed that Warren had “seen the orange-tinted light” — published a certificate bearing Warren’s signature. But it’s unclear whether Warren herself or a staffer in her office approved the flag raise request.

Warren’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

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