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Attorney John Deaton has joined a debate as to whether or not XRP is a security, and it has continued to take center stage in the crypto community, with a top venture capitalist recently proclaiming that XRP is definitely a security.
Deaton's defense to the claims
As a top advocate and proponent of the digital currency and its community, John Deaton has contributed to the argument brought on by a VC by the username Jason, who noted that it would have cost Ripple less than the alleged $200 million it incurred in legal fees to have registered its XRP sale as a security.
Sharing his take, Deaton asked where Ethereum (ETH), Cardano (ADA), Algorand (ALGO) and Stellar (XLM) have registered for them to not be facing the same legal onslaught from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Claiming Ripple sold XRP as a security is one thing. Saying XRP is a security is another. XRP is a line of code inside software. How do you register?
— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) May 9, 2023
“to have registered it as a security and played by the rules like everyone else.”
Where did ETH, ADA, ALGO, XLM, etc. register?
Deaton's defense of XRP has been quite steady since the lawsuit was brought on back in December 2020. Besides representing about 75,000 XRP holders as amicus curiae in the ongoing lawsuit, Deaton has defended general crypto innovation in the U.S. as he believes the failure to do so will push back innovation in the country.
In his defense, Deaton noted that the claims that XRP was sold as a security is one thing, while the claim that XRP is a security is another thing. He highlighted that XRP is a piece of code inside a software, making as much of a technology as any other innovation.
More support for Ripple
As reported earlier by U.Today, Ripple's Chief Executive Officer Brad Garlinghouse has been engaged in a war of words with this particular VC over the claims that XRP is not playing by the rules like everyone else.
In his response, Garlinghouse said Jason was wrong about his claims to register as there was no framework to register digital assets officially in the United States. Other industry leaders, including Erik Voorhees, have also rallied around XRP and Ripple in the discussion.