Senate candidate John Deaton says more than 80% of his net worth is in Bitcoin

John Deaton, the pro-crypto Republican lawyer running for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts, made a revelation about his personal finances at Bitcoin 2024 today. He said:

“I just disclosed to the Federal Election Commission that my net worth, 82% of it is in Bitcoin baby.”

Deaton’s journey to this point started with humble beginnings in Detroit. He often talks about the challenges his mother faced with predatory financial practices. 

He recalls how sending money to her through Western Union was costly due to high fees. 

Deaton believes Bitcoin could eliminate these exploitative systems, providing a more fair and efficient way to transfer money.

Deaton vs. Warren: A clash over crypto

Deaton is running against Senator Elizabeth Warren, a well-known critic of crypto. Warren has been advocating for stricter regulations on Bitcoin, citing concerns about illegal activities and financial stability. 

Meanwhile, Deaton’s campaign is heavily supported by the crypto community, with huge financial backing from the Commonwealth Unity Fund, a crypto-focused Political Action Committee (PAC).

In May 2023, Warren and Senator Bill Cassidy urged the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security to crack down on the use of crypto for paying for child sexual abuse material online. 

They mentioned the challenge of tracking these transactions due to their pseudonymous nature.

Warren’s connects national security and crypto

Warren’s concerns extend to national security issues. In October 2023, she led a bipartisan letter expressing worry that groups like Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad were using cryptocurrencies to dodge U.S. sanctions and fund their activities. 

She pointed out that North Korea was allegedly using crypto to finance its missile program, claiming that half of the funding came from crypto-related crimes. 

During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in May this year, Warren noted that Iran was using digital currencies to sidestep sanctions and fund actions against U.S. interests.

Warren’s push for tighter regulations has included reintroducing the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act in July 2023. She argued that crypto should follow the same strict rules as traditional financial institutions to prevent misuse by criminals. 

By September 2023, Warren had gathered broad Senate support for this bipartisan bill, which wanted to bring crypto companies under anti-money laundering regulations.

In December 2023, she grilled Big Bank CEOs on the importance of applying these rules to the crypto sector to protect national security.

Warren has also been critical of the crypto industry’s hiring practices, specifically their use of former government officials. She accused the industry of using a “revolving door” strategy to gain legitimacy while resisting regulation.