John Deaton Slams Crypto Influencer Lark Davis For Calling XRP Value Into Question

Deaton asserts that XRP is misunderstood.

Attorney John Deaton, who represents XRP holders in the capacity of amicus curiae in the US Securities and Exchange Commission vs. Ripple case, has slammed crypto influencer Lark Davis for calling the value of XRP into question in a lengthy Twitter thread today.

The crypto YouTuber highlighting that JP Morgan used Polygon and Aave to conduct a cross-border transaction as part of a regulatory pilot test in Singapore questioned the need for XRP. 

Sooo…. if JP Morgan is using $matic and $aave to settle USD to JPY forex transactions then what is the value proposition for #XRP now?

— Lark Davis (@TheCryptoLark) November 24, 2022

In turn, Deaton, the pro-XRP attorney, called Davis’s knowledge of crypto and XRP into question. 

“…one would think that a major crypto influencer, like  @TheCryptoLark, would have a much better understanding of XRP,” Deaton wrote after pointing out that XRP has managed to remain among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap for a decade despite resistance from regulators.

According to Deaton, the better question would be if JP Morgan’s venture would compete with Ripple’s business model, again highlighting that Davis may not know the difference between XRP and Ripple. 

For context, Ripple, the creator of the XRP Ledger, is a blockchain payments company that, amongst other things, provides what it calls On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) to companies that specialize in remittances. The service uses XRP as a bridge currency to enable near-instant remittances at a meager cost. Consequently, should JP Morgan build a business using Aave and MATIC to bridge currencies, it will likely compete with Ripple for market share.

But Ripple is just one company using XRP, as Deaton points out. Holders use XRP in payments, DeFi and NFTs. 

“It is very surprising that XRP remains one of the most misunderstood cryptos out there –  even though it has been around and near the top for a decade,” Deaton surmises.

Meanwhile, @digitalassetbuy noted that it was ironic to see Davis, a purported Bitcoin and DeFi believer rallying behind JP Morgan, asserting that XRP threatens Bitcoin maximalists. Notably, a user highlighted that SBI Holdings, a Japanese conglomerate and long-time Ripple partner, was working on using XRP in the foreign exchange market.

Furthermore, another user pointed out that despite Davis’s statements, Ripple’s ODL service continues to expand. Notably, the ODL service now serves nearly 40 payout markets representing about 90% of the forex market, per a recent Ripple report shared by SBI Holdings CEO Yoshitaka Kitao.