$XRP Holders Join Forces with Attorney John Deaton to Challenge SEC Claim

John Deaton's path into the $XRP world began like many others', with Bitcoin first and then a gradual descent into other coins. He eventually held Bitcoin, Ethereum, and $XRP, drawn in part by how quickly $XRP transactions settled. 'It showed up in three seconds,' he said, describing his own reaction to sending it.

The story that pulled him deeper into advocacy started closer to home when his daughter turned 18 and received $15,000 in birthday money. She bought Bitcoin, Ethereum, and $XRP using her own judgment, splitting $10,000 between Bitcoin and $2,500 each for Ethereum and $XRP.

When the SEC sued Ripple and argued that $XRP was an unregistered security, Deaton thought of people like his daughter who had bought it without relying on Ripple's efforts. This distinction became the foundation of his legal argument, and he filed a motion representing everyday $XRP holders with no relationship to Ripple.

Deaton's effort grew to include 75,000 $XRP holders from 143 countries, spanning Ukraine to Russia, two nations at war with each other. He insists that he wasn't paid by Ripple and his motivation was frustration over the government's new claim treating the token itself as a security rather than investment contracts tied to its sale.

The effort became part of the legal record, with the judge directly citing Deaton's work in her final ruling on the whole case. The ruling declared that $XRP itself is not a security.