John Deaton Reacts to Saylor’s Podcast, Says It Is Absurd to Classify Bitcoin As Ethical And Ripple As a Security

Reactions continue to trail Michael Saylor’s recent podcast. 

Comments made by MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor on a recent podcast have continued to prompt reactions from members of the cryptocurrency community. 

Moments after Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin reacted angrily to Saylor’s comments, attorney John Deaton, the lawyer representing over 68,000 XRP holders in the SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit, also aired his view on the issue. 

Attorney Deaton Invites Saylor for More Clarification

In a lengthy Twitter thread, attorney Deaton invited Saylor to appear on Crypto Law U.S. TV and justify his comment that Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency that is not a security.

Michael @saylor has an open invitation to appear on @CryptoLawUS TV and respectfully discuss, justify or clarify the extremely critical statements he made during this podcast. ??

(Starting at the 45 min mark)https://t.co/JO6zKDk74o

— John E Deaton (209K Followers Beware Imposters) (@JohnEDeaton1) July 31, 2022

Recall that Saylor noted that all cryptocurrencies aside from Bitcoin are securities. Saylor, a known Bitcoin proponent, said all legitimate talent in the cryptocurrency space is working in the Bitcoin ecosystem, adding that if a developer is honest and ethical, then he would be working on Bitcoin’s lightning network. 

Deaton Puts Saylor on Blast 

Attorney Deaton bashed Saylor for classifying all cryptocurrency assets aside from BTC as securities. The Amici legal representative in the Ripple lawsuit noted that Saylor’s analysis of what constitutes security is deeply flawed. 

Attorney Deaton expressed surprise over the comment because he believes the MicroStrategy CEO is intelligent and should know better.  

Additionally, Deaton reacted to Saylor’s comment that ethical developers should only build on the Bitcoin Lightning Network. 

“More troubling are his comments that if you’re ethical, you would build only on Bitcoin and Lightning. The ethical comments are absurd, and Saylor needs to be better than that. The problem with his analysis is that he equates every potential developer with the platform’s founders,” attorney Deaton tweeted. 

If he wants to criticize altcoin founders in comparison to #Bitcoin it is understandable and I take no issue, whether I agree or disagree w/ him.

But we’re talking about an open permission-less distributed ledger technology. Not every developer was distributed pre-mined tokens.

— John E Deaton (209K Followers Beware Imposters) (@JohnEDeaton1) July 31, 2022

According to attorney Deaton, many developers would choose to build on a particular network like Ripple’s XRP Ledger simply because the network aligns with their vision. 

He added that these developers would make their choice without affiliation with the blockchain founders. 

Attorney Deaton referred SpendTheBits, a payment solution that allows people to use their BTC in payments at a relatively low cost. Despite selecting Bitcoin as the preferred payment method, the developer built the solution on the XRP Ledger (XRPL), attorney Deaton added. 

That developer is @Jay_SpendDBits and the above facts are ? true and accurate. His #Bitcoin Payments App is @Spend_The_Bits.

What’s #SpendTheBits?? https://t.co/h0VT7uvKDc

— John E Deaton (209K Followers Beware Imposters) (@JohnEDeaton1) July 31, 2022

Attorney Deaton said he understands that Saylor is a Bitcoin maximalist and would do anything to defend the world’s largest cryptocurrency. However, he would completely disagree with Saylor if he considers XRP as a security. 

As for the absurdity of #XRP being a security, I’ve already used @Spend_The_Bits as an example for the Judge to consider and it helped acquire amici curiae status.?

I hope @saylor takes me up on my offer to discuss these issues.

(Disclosure: I am a @MicroStrategy shareholder). https://t.co/ipu1gXOObe

— John E Deaton (209K Followers Beware Imposters) (@JohnEDeaton1) July 31, 2022

Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin says Michael Saylor is A Total Clown after Saylor called every other crypto aside from Bitcoin as security lacking sound ethical fundamentals.

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