John Deaton, a prominent lawyer in the cryptocurrency industry, has surpassed Senator Elizabeth Warren in fundraising for the first quarter of this year in his bid to take her Senate seat. Deaton raised $1.36 million compared to Warren’s $1.09 million.
Deaton’s campaign received support from notable figures in the crypto community, including Chris Larsen and Brad Garlinghouse, executives at Ripple, and Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, founders of Gemini. Other contributors included Anthony Scaramucci, founder of SkyBridge Capital, Charles Hoskinson, co-founder of Cardano and Ethereum, and Jesse Powell, co-founder of Kraken.
Preliminary reports to the United States Federal Election Commission (FEC) show that Deaton received a total of nearly $360,700 from his contributors in the first quarter of 2024, in addition to the $1 million he personally loaned to his campaign.
In comparison, Warren’s fundraising came solely from individual donors, totaling just under $1.09 million.
Deaton gained recognition for his defense of XRP holders in the legal battle between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Ripple. In February, he announced his candidacy for Warren’s Senate seat representing Massachusetts, running as a Republican against the incumbent Democrat who has long been critical of cryptocurrencies. Warren has introduced legislation aimed at regulating the crypto industry, which some argue would stifle innovation and investment in the United States.
Among Deaton’s largest individual contributors were Larsen, Garlinghouse, Scaramucci, and the Winklevoss twins, each donating the maximum amount of $6,600. Hoskinson, Powell, and Jameson Lopp, founder of Casa wallet, also contributed $3,300 each to Deaton’s primary campaign, along with Ripple’s legal chief Stuart Alderoty.
The U.S. Senate elections, along with the presidential election, are scheduled for November 5, with 34 out of the 100 seats up for contention in the Senate and all 435 seats in the House of Representatives. It is expected that former President Donald Trump will once again face off against President Joe Biden.
Magazine:
Pro-XRP lawyer John Deaton reveals increased investments in BTC and ETH.