Pro-XRP lawyer John Deaton said that the SEC’s stance in the Coinbase rulemaking dispute directly
opposes the SEC chair’s statements during his congressional testimony earlier in 2023.
In the ongoing legal dispute between Coinbase and the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC), pro-XRP lawyer John Deaton accused SEC Chair Gary Gensler of gaslighting the public and disagreed with his stance on cryptocurrencies.
The accusation comes amid the SEC rejecting Coinbase’s crypto rulemaking petition for three reasons:
applying current securities laws to cryptocurrencies, the SEC’s engagement with the crypto securities
markets through rulemaking, and the significance of preserving the commission’s discretion in establishing its rulemaking priorities.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Deaton emphasized Gensler’s statement outlining the
reasons for the SEC’s decision, where the SEC chair states, “there is NOTHING unique or new about cryptocurrencies.”
Gensler added that Coinbase’s rulemaking request relies on the belief in
the distinctiveness of the crypto ecosystem concerning asset volatility and the categorization of all assets as securities under current laws.
According to Deaton, this stance directly opposes the SEC chair’s statements during his congressional
testimony earlier in 2023. Deaton recalled Gensler asserting that crypto lies beyond the commission’s scope due to its unique nature, creating a regulatory gap.
Deaton stated that Coinbase’s request relied on the SEC’s perspective, as evidenced by prior
communications. He noted Gensler’s complete reversal on the crypto issue, attributing it to political motives and backing from Senator Elizabeth Warren.
