John Deaton, the crypto advocate and personal injury lawyer running as a Republican for US Senate, is loaning his campaign $1 million, in an indication of how seriously he is taking his long-shot bid against Democratic incumbent Elizabeth Warren.
Since announcing his campaign in mid-February, Deaton has also raised $360,690 from individual contributors, his campaign said, leaving him with nearly $1.2 million cash on hand.
Deaton has said he wants to run on kitchen table issues, not cryptocurrency. But his bid is already drawing attention from executives and everyday token holders of cryptocurrency, especially because Warren has been one of Washington’s most vocal critics of the industry and loudest advocates for regulation. Deaton received some donations in cryptocurrency and won donations from some of the industry’s biggest names. He’s already been endorsed by prominent names in the crypto world, including the founder of the Chamber of Digital Commerce, Perianne Boring.
Deaton received donations from Charles Hoskinson, who cofounded the Ethereum platform; Anthony Scaramucci, the former White House communications director who has been an outspoken crypto investor; and Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the twins who cofounded the crypto platform Gemini, Politico first reported Friday. They were just some of the notable industry players stepping up to boost Deaton in what will be a difficult campaign.
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Deaton’s first-quarter haul leaves him far behind Warren, the progressive champion and powerhouse fund-raiser whose campaign said she had $4.4 million in her war chest. Warren raised $1.1 million for her reelection bid during the first quarter of 2024, her campaign said last week. Warren, the well-known Democratic senior senator from Massachusetts, remains the heavy favorite to win the race in this reliably blue state.
A spokesperson for Warren said the senator’s campaign is powered by small-dollar donations, “not by special interests trying to elevate candidates.”
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Warren has emerged as a target for cryptocurrency leaders as they gear up for the 2024 elections. The cash-flush industry is targeting vulnerable Democrats in an effort to elect politicians who will be friendlier to its interests. But toppling Warren in Massachusetts would be an exceedingly difficult task.
Deaton, 56, has decades of experience as an attorney working on mesothelioma and asbestos cases, but is perhaps better known as a major booster of cryptocurrency. Deaton’s online presence, including his website CryptoLaw and his YouTube channel of the same name, feature frequent and detailed commentary on the industry, as do his posts on the social-media platform X. He has also gotten involved in related litigation, including by filing an amicus brief in a lawsuit between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Ripple Labs, one of the world’s most highly valued cryptocurrency companies.
Several Ripple executives — chief executive Brad Garlinghouse, cofounder Chris Larsen, and chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty — donated to Deaton, campaign finance records show.
Deaton is a retired US Marine officer who was raised in Detroit before graduating from Eastern Michigan University and New England Law Boston. He moved to Massachusetts from Rhode Island in late January, just weeks before announcing his bid for Senate.
Warren may face two prominent GOP opponents with ties to the cryptocurrency industry. Quincy City Councilor Ian Cain filed paperwork with federal regulators to run as a Republican for US Senate and told the Globe he expects to make a more formal announcement later this month.
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Emma Platoff can be reached at emma.platoff@globe.com. Follow her @emmaplatoff.