Warren Vs. Deaton: Crypto Debate Raises Questions About Warren’s Hostile Stance

US Senator Elizabeth Warren’s crypto stance has been questioned after the debate against Pro-XRP Lawyer John Deaton. The Senator’s seemingly less aggressive comments depart from her repeatedly hostile approach to the sector, surprising the community.

Massachusetts Senate Debate Heats Up

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, known in the industry for her strong anti-crypto stance, surprised the community with her most recent comments during the Massachusetts Senate debate against Lawyer John Deaton.

The candidates for the Massachusetts Senate seats have very different approaches, as the debate hosts pointed out. Senator Warren has previously vowed to build “an anti-crypto army” and has called the industry a “threat to financial stability.” Meanwhile, Deaton, pro-crypto, has often criticized Warren and the Federal authorities’ “overly aggressive regulation” of the sector.

During the debate, Senator Warren repeatedly stated that she was open to digital assets if the industry followed the same rules as the other financial institutions, seemingly departing from her previous hostile comments.

I’m all for having a crypto system if people want to buy and sell crypto. All I want is some basic fair rules, the same kind of fair rules that should apply to all of our financial institutions.

However, Deaton noted that “the rules are already there” and questioned the motives behind the Democratic Senator’s decision to build an anti-industry army “with all that’s going on.”

Additionally, the pro-XRP Lawyer suggested that Warren’s policies don’t favor the working class, stating that they “hurt poor people” instead. Deaton also said he wishes Senator Warren “attacked” inflation and border security “the way she attacks, and it’s focused on crypto.”

The Democratic Senator argued that if Deaton goes to Washington, he will fight for the sector as his “crypto buddies are going to want a return on their investment,” noting that industry figures have donated to the lawyer’s campaign to win the Senate seat.

Nonetheless, Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign has also received contributions in cryptocurrencies. As reported by Bitcoinist, the US Vice President and Democratic nominee recently got her first documented donation in digital assets after Ripple’s co-founder sent $1 million worth of XRP to the Political Action Committee (PAC).

Is Senator Warren “All In For Crypto”?

The community reacted to the debate and questioned the reason behind Warren’s less aggressive wording. Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett wondered if the Democratic Senator was backtracking on her anti-industry stance as her comments weren’t as hostile as usual.

However, Galaxy’s Head of Research, Alex Thorn, refuted this hypothesis. In an X post, Thorn pointed out that Warren’s comments were consistent with her previous stances, nothing that her wording implied the same approach to the sector:

No, Warren’s being consistent. May seem reasonable when she says, “same rules as the banks.” But she means applying BSA compliance to non-custodial entities like wallets, software devs, smart contracts, miners, and validators, which is effectively a ban on blockchain networks themselves.

Similarly, investors also expressed their discontent with the Senator’s comments. Scott Melker, the host of The Wolf Of All Streets podcast, called Warren a “bold-faced liar,” noting that she attacked Deaton for holding digital assets while “entirely lying about her past comments on crypto. Astounding lies.”

Ultimately, it seems like the community deemed Senator Warren’s statement a “trojan horse” instead of an honest effort to soften her stance and work with the industry.