Coinbase SEC Case: Pro-Crypto GOP Senatorial Candidate Files To Become Legal Counsel

John Deaton, a Republican senatorial candidate seeking to grab the Massachusetts seat from Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, recently filed an amicus curiae appearance in the high-stakes legal battle filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.

Specifically, Deaton said in the filing that he is requesting "to appear as counsel for 4,701 Coinbase Customers."

An amicus curiae is an individual or entity that is not a party in a legal case but is permitted by the court to provide expertise or information related to the case. While it will be the court's discretion to consider Deaton's filing, his latest move could strengthen his campaign case to get more support from cryptocurrency users across the country.

Deaton's filing came about a month after U.S. District Judge Katherine Polka Failla rejected Coinbase's request to dismiss the SEC's complaint against the crypto exchange. The case will now proceed toward trial.

The regulator filed a complaint against Coinbase last year, accusing the crypto giant of violating securities laws by selling unregistered securities. The SEC wants Coinbase to halt its operations due to its supposed violations, but the popular digital asset company's leadership has repeatedly said it will not go down without a fight.

Deaton, on the other hand, is known for his work with holders of XRP, Ripple's native cryptocurrency. He filed a motion to intervene on behalf of over 6,000 XRP owners in the SEC's case against the digital asset custody giant. At the time, he said holders of the asset were not being adequately represented.

The lawyer has raised the issue of why Warren didn't press the SEC or its chair Gary Gensler regarding the collapsed FTX, even as she was "the single best critic of Bitcoin and crypto in the U.S. Congress." Warren "hasn't questioned why or how Gensler missed SBF's (FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried) fraud, considering his up and close meetings with SBF," he argued.

The cryptocurrency community on X (formerly Twitter) has since caught wind of Deaton's latest move. One user said the case was "about to get interesting" with Deaton's entry into the picture. Another said it was a "great move." One user said the development "could be a game-changer in the fight for crypto regulation."

The Solana blockchain network's Ada token ($ADA) account only wrote "Woof!" on Cointelegraph's post about Deaton stepping up on behalf of Coinbase users, but the popular coin's reaction could signal growing interest in Deaton among some of the biggest players in the crypto space.

Despite apparent growing interest regarding Deaton's recent activities, he is still a long way from unseating known crypto critic Warren, who has held the Massachusetts seat for over a decade.