'I wish Senator Warren attacked inflation the way she attacks crypto,' Deaton says in fiery debate

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren took aim at her crypto-friendly Republican opponent, John Deaton, in a fiery debate  late Tuesday, hosted by the WBZ TV and radio stations and the Boston Globe newspaper.

Sen. Warren, seeking her fourth term as a U.S. Senator, sits on both the Senate Finance Committee and the Committee on Banking, Housing, Urban Affairs. She has been critical of crypto, saying it ought to have to follow the same rules as everybody else, and put forward an anti-money laundering bill earlier this year that aims to extend Bank Secrecy Act requirements, including know-your-customer rules, to miners, validators and wallet providers. 

Deaton is a long-time crypto advocate and runs CryptoLaw, a site covering legal and regulatory updates. In 2021, Deaton filed a petition challenging the Security and Exchange Commission's claim that XRP is a security in its case against Ripple. He officially made his bid for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts to face off against Warren in next month’s election in February, subsequently securing the Republican nomination.

Ripple Labs and Gemini founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss are among those in the crypto industry supporting Deaton’s campaign. Ripple Labs donated $1 million to the Commonwealth Unity Fund, a super political action committee set up by attorney James Murphy to help unseat Warren, whereas the Winklevoss twins donated a total of $1 million in bitcoin to his campaign directly.

Contrasting crypto stances

Crypto took up a large portion of the wide-ranging debate, with Warren, famous for her campaign pledge to build an “anti-crypto army,” claiming Deaton would be beholden to the crypto industry that has backed him in the race.

“If John Deaton has a chance to go to Washington, his crypto buddies are going to want a return on their investment. He's going to be there to fight for crypto,” Warren said during the debate, suggesting he’d prioritize the industry’s interests over working-class Americans.

“I've upset more crypto billionaires than anyone did,” Deaton replied, claiming to have done Warren’s job by exposing regulatory capture in the crypto space during her time on the banking committee. “But here's the thing, her bill bans bitcoin self-custody in America, yet she's allowing the banks to custody bitcoin — another example that Senator Warren's policies do not help poor people, they do not help the working class.”

Deaton also brought up his advocacy for XRP holders during the SEC’s case against Ripple, suggesting it led to a $1 million recent donation by Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen to a PAC supporting Kamala Harris’s campaign. “If I didn't do what I did, sue the SEC on behalf of small retail investors, that donation to your candidate of choice, Senator, would not have happened. So, Madam Vice President, if you're watching, you're welcome.”

Warren again questioned his connections to the crypto industry, however. “He's saying he has really made crypto folks mad, so mad that they came here to Massachusetts and are funding 90% of his campaign to try to take back this Senate seat to take it away from me.”

Deaton responded by questioning why the Senator was so focused on crypto. “I wish Senator Warren would attack inflation the way she attacks crypto. I wish she would attack securing the border the way she's focused on crypto,” he said.

“People want to buy and sell crypto, that's great,” Warren replied. “I just want to make sure that crypto has to follow the same rules as every bank, every stockbroker, every credit union, and that is some consumer protection laws and laws to make sure that it's not open for terrorists and drug traffickers and human traffickers in Iran,” she added, reiterating her long-held stance.