Crypto advocate John Deaton wins GOP nod to challenge industry skeptic Elizabeth Warren for Senate seat

One of crypto's finest may be headed to Capitol Hill even as he tells FOX Business that digital asset advocacy won’t be central to his long-shot bid to unseat Elizabeth Warren, the powerful progressive lawmaker who has served as the senior senator from Massachusetts for more than a decade.

John Deaton, a Marine veteran, attorney and well-known crypto advocate, clinched the GOP nomination Tuesday evening, snapping up 65% of the party vote to challenge Warren on Nov. 5.

Deaton, who says he holds around 80% of his personal wealth in bitcoin, has been a vocal advocate for fair digital asset policy, using his legal smarts to intervene on behalf of retail customers of two of the biggest crypto firms – Ripple and Coinbase – as they battle the Securities and Exchange Commission. Warren, on the other hand, has become the crypto world’s archnemesis through her criticism of the $2 trillion industry and her support of the enforcement crackdown by SEC Chair Gary Gensler.

Deaton has garnered the support of many crypto participants and has received personal donations from crypto billionaires like Gemini exchange founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, Cardano blockchain founder Charles Hoskinson and even Ripple itself, which donated $1 million to a super PAC supporting the Republican hopeful.

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But it would be a mistake for Warren to believe that Deaton is a single-issue candidate focused solely on crypto. Instead, Deaton tells FOX Business he's focusing on Massachusetts' weak immigration laws that have led to an influx of migrants into the state; tax policy that he says has decimated the working class as jobs leave the Northeast for tax-friendly locales; and ending inflation through fiscal restraint. 

"She's the crypto candidate, not me," Deaton tells FOX Business. "She's built her re-election campaign on building an anti-crypto army, even introducing legislation that would basically ban bitcoin. We've got serious issues, more pressing than crypto to talk about."

Shortly after Deaton's victory Tuesday night, Warren issued a statement on Deaton’s support from some of the top people in the digital asset business.

"A small handful of crypto billionaires and corporate special interests poured more than $2 million into a super PAC to handpick their preferred Republican candidate, and now Massachusetts voters have a clear choice that could determine control of the Senate," she said.

Warren agreed to two debates with Deaton in October so that voters could have "a substantive policy conversation about abortion rights, the Supreme Court, funding for Medicare and Social Security, and other issues critical to our country’s future."

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Deaton, meanwhile, is proposing five single-issue debates on the economy, immigration, women’s reproductive rights, income inequality and foreign wars, stating that two debates will not be enough to touch on all the issues facing voters.

"People ask me if I'm the pro-crypto candidate, and I respond by saying ‘No, I’m the pro-freedom candidate'," Deaton said. "I don't believe the government should be in the business of telling people what they can and can't own. When I make it to the Senate, I will be an advocate for smart, tailored crypto policy, but I will be fighting just as hard for the other issues that matter to the people of Massachusetts."

Deaton's quest to oust Warren comes as crypto could play a definitive role in the upcoming presidential election between former President Trump and Vice President Harris. More than 40 million Americans own crypto and some of those identify as single-issue voters, meaning they are more likely to vote for the candidate with the most crypto-friendly policies over anything else.

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Trump has been courting the crypto voting bloc since May, promising to make the U.S. the "crypto capital of the world" and make the regulatory environment friendlier. Harris has not publicly stated where she stands on crypto, but many in the industry believe she will take a similar approach to Biden because of her position as his vice president as well as her support from Warren.