John Deaton — the U.S. lawyer who became a leading voice for XRP holders during the SEC v. Ripple battle — fired a warning shot at current U.S. crypto policy after watching Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse’s Fox Business interview with Maria Bartiromo.
In a lengthy post on X on March 30, 2026, Deaton said he agreed with Garlinghouse’s core point: American companies and capital markets cannot survive another “Gensler 2.0,” and the only reliable safeguard is clear legislation from Congress. “The only way to guarantee that we don’t [get Gensler 2.0] — is by passing legislation,” Deaton wrote, stressing that enforcement-driven rulemaking leaves the industry perpetually exposed.
Garlinghouse’s Bartiromo interview, which framed the debate around U.S. competitiveness and regulatory chaos, argued that slow or punitive U.S. policy is already pushing firms, talent and liquidity to friendlier jurisdictions. Bartiromo has echoed the broader Fox Business narrative that America risks “losing the race” on digital assets if lawmakers don’t act fast.
Deaton expanded on that theme, warning that a “Gensler 2.0” would mean more regulation-by-enforcement — a default posture that treats many tokens as securities and forces projects into defensive legal fights, as critics have argued happened in cases like Ripple, LBRY and Coinbase. He also singled out the current debate over a potential U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC), saying the only durable way to prevent a surveillance-style CBDC is through an explicit act of Congress that limits the Fed’s authority.
Even where SEC figures have offered guidance and clarity, Deaton noted, such direction can be undone by future administrations unless Congress cements rules into law. He closed by pointing to who is poised to lead the Senate Banking Committee — Senator Elizabeth Warren — a longtime hawk on Wall Street who has publicly vowed to build what she calls an “anti-crypto army” and has backed bills like the Digital Asset Anti‑Money Laundering Act. That, Deaton argues, increases the stakes for firms that fear tougher, bank‑friendly legislation.
Both Deaton and Garlinghouse warn that ongoing regulatory drift is already reshaping markets: clarity on XRP’s legal status and other statutory developments are shifting capital into assets perceived as safer from enforcement risk, and further legislative outcomes could accelerate that rotation. The practical risk, they say, is that the next generation of financial plumbing — and the jobs and investment that come with it — could be built in Europe, Asia or the Middle East instead of the U.S.
Image credits: Perplexity (cover), TradingView (XRPUSDT chart).
Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news
