John E Deaton Profile picture
Candidate for United States Senate in Massachusetts. Lawyer; entrepreneur; author; survivor.
JaQie Space Force Profile picture Ender Profile picture beezee Profile picture XRPFeed / Do Good Profile picture Simon G Profile picture 18 subscribed
Mar 26 25 tweets 6 min read
As a private citizen and as a Candidate for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts, I’m calling for the resignation of @SECGov Chairman @GaryGensler. Under Gensler, the SEC has forgotten, or intentionally abandoned, its primary mission in protecting innocent investors. The Securities Act of 1933 was created and passed into law to protect investors after the stock market crash of 1929. The following year, at the height of the Great Depression. Congress created the @SECGov through the 1934 Securities Exchange Act.
Nov 29, 2023 7 tweets 3 min read
“Clayton - in his final act - is picking winners and trying to limit US innovation in the crypto industry to BTC and ETH.”
-@bgarlinghouse on 12-21-20

Now consider this: 2 months before that final act by Clayton, #OneRiver made a $1B bet on #BTC & #ETH, and once Clayton left the SEC, he almost immediately joined #OneRiver.

Also consider that Clayton’s law firm, Sullivan & Cromwell (who he was receiving money from) represented @Consensys and @ethereumJoseph and brokered the deal where Consensys acquired JP Morgan’s Quorum which was pushing/utilizing the #JPMCoin. Lubin constantly claimed that he did not consider #XRP or @Ripple as competitors - even though the WEF thought otherwise: 👇

Image Consider that during his deposition, Hinman admitted that he was the one who reached out to Joe Lubin to discuss #ETH. When asked by Ripple’s lawyers whether Clayton was the one who asked Hinman to reach out to Lubin and Consensys, Hinman testified that he couldn’t recall whether Clayton had suggested it. 🤔
Jul 24, 2023 32 tweets 7 min read
FIRST ME - NOW 👩‍⚖️

I’ve been fighting tribalism and echo chamber politics for the last three years. In 2013 SEC Officials were calling #Bitcoin a security. Unfortunately for me and my family, I wasn’t aware of #Bitcoin in 2013. Where was @maxkeiser when I needed him the most? 😂 If I had owned #BTC in 2013 and those same SEC officials had sued the #Bitcoin Foundation and/or #BTC Miners, I would’ve sued the SEC - just like I did regarding its gross overreach related to #XRP.
Jun 19, 2023 15 tweets 6 min read
I understand Marc’s comment that secondary sales are an open legal question and whether a Howey analysis must be applied to secondary market transactions. But when you look at the existing case law in totality it strongly favors that you must apply Howey at each subsequent sale. If an investment contract remained one in perpetuity it would nullify the common enterprise factor moving forward.
Hypothetical:

Ripple sells XRP to Johnny Crypto’s business who pays his employees in XRP. His employees have never heard of Ripple and use XRP on their debit… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Jun 19, 2023 19 tweets 11 min read
HINMAN DEPOSITION:

They didn’t redact the spelling of @ConsenSys. Hinman says he had 4-5 meetings w/them but maybe one was a phone call. This is between December 13, 2017 and June 8, 2018. We know for sure of 4 actual meetings. The meeting w/@VitalikButerin makes a minimum five. ImageImageImageImage Notice the email referenced in his testimony. This is one of the emails that @EMPOWR_us is fighting to get released but the SEC has refused to turn over. Now notice that Jay Clayton spoke with Hinman specially about the @ConsenSys meetings at least 1-2 times. ImageImageImage
Jun 17, 2023 11 tweets 8 min read
Dear @BeckyQuick, (@andrewrsorkin @JoeSquawk)

Listen to yourself please. You said this issue was always in your inbox or feed. You said you tried to do research and looked into it. You’ve always presented as a conscientious journalist, so I believe that you did look into it. If it was baseless, you wouldn’t have even asked Clayton the question. Becky, it’s not just about Bill Hinman and his conflicts of interests that are involved in the @Ripple XRP case. You know very well that there is, at a minimum, a gross appearance of impropriety.
Jun 16, 2023 5 tweets 2 min read
HINMAN’s DEPOSITION WAS JULY 27, 2021 - LONG BEFORE JUDGE TORRES ORDERED THE EMAIL SPEECH DOCUMENTS TO BE PRODUCED

Judge Torres’ Order is dated 9-29-22 @s_alderoty’s and @bgarlinghouse’s tweets about receiving the documents is on 10-22-22 - 15 months AFTER the deposition.
May 21, 2023 4 tweets 2 min read
Read this short 🧵 please. When you look at all the other SEC-LIT-EMAILS cited in Ripple’s opposition, they are redacted. The one about there being reasonable grounds to not believe XRP satisfies all the Howey factors is not redacted. Image The SEC wanted all statements by SEC staff redacted and it appears they all were. What this tells me is that the statement about XRP not satisfying Howey is NOT a direct quote from a senior SEC official - otherwise it would be reacted.
May 21, 2023 4 tweets 2 min read
Since noticing this, I’ve been racking my 🧠 about two things: 1) why wouldn’t @Ripple lawyers make a much bigger deal about this (and not just include it in a footnote); and 2) how tf did I miss it before today (although to be fair I’ve read thousands of pages and do have a job) I think I know how I missed it. Here’s the page before, now read the sentence ending with footnote 33. The sentence says “other market participants” independent from Ripple sent the SEC analyses of XRP, concluding XRP was not a security. That first citation is not the emails. ImageImage
May 20, 2023 6 tweets 2 min read
Anyone familiar with Mandamus writs will not be surprised by the SEC’s response. The Coinbase Writ is asking for an Article III Judge to tell an Officer of the Executive Branch to do his job. Of course, the SEC will argue that it has total discretion to do the job as it sees fit. The @coinbase Writ was very smart strategy. For one, SEC lawyers (and most federal prosecutors for that matter) are great at playing offense but suck when you fight back and put them on their heels. The SEC has to respond and when they do we have it in writing forever.
May 19, 2023 24 tweets 14 min read
I saw the 👇 video and then ran into this sign. Who is Canaan? A #BTC & #ETH mining ⛏️ company that went public. Who brought the IPO? Simpson Thacher - Bill Hinman’s law firm. What was Hinman’s position at the time his firm made these huge fees? Director of Corporation Finance. Image Hinman must’ve took precautions to avoid any conflict, right? Wrong!

Look at the👇 emails. On the SAME DAY a letter goes out from Hinman’s Division, Hinman agrees to MEET his partner at Simpson Thacher. I’m sure that’s a coincidence. Some might be thinking: What’s the big deal? ImageImageImage
May 19, 2023 4 tweets 2 min read
A lot of comments about whether this delay is for settlement discussions. If the Hinman emails were going to lead to a settlement it would’ve been before they turned them over to Ripple. IMO, the SEC has accepted that the Hinman emails are eventually going to be made public. @RoslynLayton intervened for the purposes of the public getting to read these documents. Judge Torres said her motion was moot b/c the documents must be made public. The 2nd Circuit will NEVER overturn that ruling. @dragonchain, @coinbase, etc will all seek these documents.
May 18, 2023 8 tweets 4 min read
Remember, we haven’t seen the the 56.1 statements and counter statements filed by the parties. The 56.1 statements and counter statements is where each party cites indisputable facts and evidence supporting their position for summary judgement. Thus, it is very difficult for anyone, including me, to accurately weigh specific evidence submitted by the SEC and @Ripple. For example, every one knows that Ripple’s Blue Sky argument is that there must be an underlying contract before the Judge can even apply the Howey test.
May 5, 2023 16 tweets 4 min read
Let me repeat what I wrote to Judge Torres:

“The SEC asks this Court to validate its shorthand and analytically lazy contention that Ripple has engaged in the functional equivalent of a nine year-long, on-going, 24/7 ICO, and that each and every sale of XRP, from anywhere in the world, offered by anyone, including amici, was, is, always has been, and always will be, the offer and sale, of a security. ECF 640 at 49-50 (“a purchase of XRP WAS an investment of money into a common enterprise with other XRP investors and with Defendants.”) (emphasis added);
May 2, 2023 14 tweets 9 min read
SHAME ON U.S. REGULATORS

Consider the following:

In 2017 SEC issued the DAO. Then 2017-19 there were 57 enforcement actions 🆚 crypto companies, involving ICOs (#KIK, #Telegram, etc).

In 2018 we got the Hinman Speech.

In 2019 the SEC issued its Framework for Digital assets. Also in 2019, former Chairman Clayton publicly agreed with Hinman’s speech stating the token itself is NOT a security and that a token can, at first, start out or be issued as a security, but later transform so that subsequent sales of the token no longer meet the Howey test.
May 2, 2023 4 tweets 2 min read
Quite a few people ask why would Ripple settle if they won. First, I didn’t say Ripple would agree to the same terms of a settlement they would’ve agreed to 2 years ago. It all depends on the ruling itself. Does Coinbase and Kraken immediately relist or wait for an appeal? Does Bank of America, a Ripple partner feel comfortable with the decision or wait to see if Judge Torres gets overturned if the SEC appeals her ruling.

Remember, the SEC can file a notice of appeal and withdraw it later.
May 1, 2023 4 tweets 2 min read
This is not how a settlement happens. First, I believe the only time a settlement occurs in this case is AFTER a ruling by Judge Torres and that happens only if Ripple gets a big victory so Gensler could save face and get a political win via settlement. Sorry not going to happen. How is Genlser going to agree that ongoing and future sales of #XRP are not securities AND pursue Coinbase and others? Sure he could try and thread 🧵 the needle 🪡 and somehow claim claim that #XRP is like no other token AFTER claiming that it was like others for over 2 years.
Apr 14, 2023 15 tweets 10 min read
After Coinbase listed #XRP in late February 2019, @MoneyGram filed a notice with the SEC and read what it said:

“This agreement will enable MoneyGram to utilize Ripple’s xRapid product (XRP) in foreign exchange settlement as part of the MoneyGram’s cross-border payment process.” Image If #XRP was itself an illegal security the way the SEC now claims, why would the SEC allow this MoneyGram partnership 18 months before Clayton dropped the lawsuit on his last full day at the SEC and the very next day after meeting with @GaryGensler? 🤔
Apr 13, 2023 24 tweets 11 min read
Yet, the FND is pled as Ripple’s Fourth Affirmative Defense. Is Ripple’s FND argument different or unique than previous one’s? Yes!

But we must first fully understand the nature of the FND and when, if ever, it would become relevant in the case. To fully comprehend Ripple’s FND, we must first distinguish it from the typical “fair notice” argument that has been raised in previous crypto cases (e.g. Telegram, Kik, @LBRYcom).
Apr 2, 2023 12 tweets 6 min read
“INVESTMENT CONTRACT”

Is one of the most misunderstood legal terms in the law. The Howey Test must be the most misapplied legal test or doctrine on social media.

“Investment contract” is a legal term of art adopted from state law by Congress when it enacted the 1933 Act. According to the Securities Act of 1933, the term ‘‘security’’ means:

“any note, stock, treasury stock, security future, security-based swap, bond, debenture, evidence of indebtedness, certificate of interest or participation in any profit-sharing agreement,
Mar 31, 2023 9 tweets 6 min read
Imagined #XRP outcomes:

Best outcome: outright win for @Ripple w/the Judge smacking the SEC for gross overreach and behavior in the case (Judge Netburn has commented SEC lawyers are hypocrites, lack faithful allegiance to the law, and only care about winning the next argument); 2nd best: Judge rules Ripple offered #XRP as an investment contract aka security early in the #XRP ecosystem on a few specific instances (ie the brochure sent to 100 potential investors in 2014) but #XRP itself is not a security and ongoing and secondary sales are not securities;