Attorney John Deaton calls on the SEC to end its war on the cryptocurrency industry

Odaily News John E. Deaton, a lawyer who supports the crypto industry, called for an end to the "war against the cryptocurrency industry" led by the U.S. SEC. Deaton's statement came after a series of legal actions involving major entities such as Ripple, LBRY, Coinbase, etc., which he believed consumed a lot of resources without addressing substantive fraud.
Deaton expressed his dissatisfaction with the SEC's ongoing regulatory actions in an article on X, citing several cases where cryptocurrency companies faced legal challenges and financial burdens despite not being accused of fraud. He believes that these cases have drained company resources and had a negative impact on the cryptocurrency industry.
Deaton also pointed out several cases where the company suffered significant losses due to legal disputes with the SEC. Notably, he mentioned that Ripple spent more than $150 million in legal fees in a case that did not involve any allegations of fraud. This situation affected Ripple's operations, partnerships, and market activities, and had an impact on XRP holders.
To further illustrate the impact of SEC actions, Deaton cited the case of LBRY, a platform that was shut down by the SEC without any allegations of fraud, resulting in the loss of job and financial setback for its founder, Jeremy Kauffman (who lost millions of dollars in legal fees).
Furthermore, despite Kraken’s attempt to settle by paying a $30 million fine, the platform is still facing follow-up lawsuits, demonstrating an aggressive pattern of regulatory behavior by the SEC that threatens innovation and growth in the cryptocurrency industry.