Attorney John Deaton shared thoughts on the fights between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and crypto groups. In an interview with Thinking Crypto, he opened up about possible agreements, the SEC’s tough stance, and the problems crypto platforms face.
Deaton isn’t very hopeful about settlements, saying, “I don’t think so, right? But that’s just me guessing.” He thinks the SEC is going all-in against crypto, like a scorched-earth policy.
He said, “The SEC is in this war, so if you’re in the middle of the war, and you’re going after Coinbase, and you’re going after Kraken, and you’re going after Binance, and you’re saying that Algorand is a security and you’re saying that Cardano’s a security and you’re saying that these businesses are illegal, then how do you thread the needle with Ripple, right? It’s possible, but Gensler doesn’t seem to. It’s all war; it’s scorched Earth policy. We’re at war.”
The attorney also covered the SEC’s lawsuits against big crypto platforms Coinbase and Kraken. Deaton praised Coinbase for following the rules but noted Kraken’s tough choice to settle for $50 million. He said it’s difficult for these platforms to deal with legal challenges.
Focusing on bigger issues, like Senator Elizabeth Warren’s plan to ban Bitcoin. Deaton is worried about the SEC’s power and wants big changes in how the agency works. Deaton also talked about the SEC’s actions against his law firm. He’s concerned about the SEC having too much power and making mistakes. He thinks we need big changes to make things fair.
In the end, Deaton mentioned he might join the Coinbase case if their motion to dismiss is denied on January 17th. He wants to make sure regular people’s voices are heard in the legal stuff.
