Prominent pro-Ripple lawyer John Deaton has disclosed that he owns ten times more Bitcoin (BTC) than XRP, Ripple’s native cryptocurrency.
Deaton’s disclosure comes amidst the ongoing legal battle between Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), where he has been actively involved in representing more than 75,000 XRP holders.
Deaton forked out this information via a Sunday tweet writing, “I’ve never moved on from Bitcoin. When I sued the SEC, I owned 10X more in BTC and 4X more in ETH than I did XRP.” He emphasized that even though he highlighted regulatory issues with Ethereum (ETH), XRP was his smallest investment when the lawsuit was initiated.
Deaton’s response comes as a firm rebuttal to Bitcoin advocate and Custodia Bank founder Caitlin Long, who had inaccurately asserted in a recent interview that Deaton swiftly shifted away from Bitcoin due to scalability concerns within the Bitcoin network. However, in a swift response, Deaton clarified his unwavering commitment to Bitcoin, dismissing Long’s statement as inaccurate.
Deaton further disputed the SEC’s portrayal of him during the lawsuit as a disgruntled XRP holder who had chosen the wrong token and suffered financial losses. He clarified that contrary to the agency’s lawyer’s claims, XRP was his smallest investment at the time of bringing the lawsuit, and he had already made substantial profits from it.
“The truth was when the SEC filed suit on December 22, 2020, I had made significant money on XRP. At the time, I owned 3 tokens, and XRP was my smallest investment behind BTC and ETH. The SEC never lets the truth get in the way of their lies. The case was much bigger than XRP. But, I did buy more XRP AFTER the lawsuit because I knew we would win.” Wrote Deaton.
Shifting focus, Deaton offered his perspective on the potential approval of a Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) Monday. He conveyed optimism, stating that there might be a short-term sell-off immediately following the approval, but he anticipates that, in the weeks that follow, Bitcoin (BTC) is likely to experience an upward trend. Deaton further expressed the belief that multiple approved Spot ETFs, including those by major financial institutions like BlackRock and Fidelity, will drive demand for Bitcoin.
Deaton also discussed the dynamics of the Bitcoin market, noting that a substantial portion of BTC remains unmoved, and the reduction in daily supply, combined with increased institutional interest, could lead to higher prices.
