Deaton Receives “Defender of Freedom Award,” Dedicates it to XRP Holders

ICBLA honors John Deaton, a pro-XRP lawyer and managing partner of the Deaton Law firm, with the prestigious Defender of Freedom Award.

Pro-XRP lawyer John Deaton has reacted to being honored with the Defender of Freedom Award by the International Congress of Blockchain Legal Advisors (ICBLA).

ICBLA Honors Deaton With the Defender of Freedom Award

For context, ICBLA announced the development in a press release published on September 25. The organization noted that the Defender of Freedom Award is an accolade dedicated to celebrating individuals and entities for their remarkable efforts to uphold freedom in the crypto community.

ICBLA called Attorney Deaton a “truly deserving recipient whose visionary strategy helped enable digital asset owners to intercede against SEC’s enforcement actions.” 

Furthermore, the organization highlighted Deaton’s contribution in the SEC v. Ripple case, stating that the impact of his intervention was seen after the judge cited his amicus brief in the summary judgment.

It is interesting to note that the Defender of Freedom Award comes with a $5,000 cash prize.

Deaton Reacts

Reacting, Attorney Deaton gave his acceptance speech on the X platform, emphasizing that he received the award on behalf of the 75K XRP holders.

I accepted this generous award on behalf of 75K people who were willing to fight back. People like @naomibrockwell who said go ahead and use my name and example – in Court – against the Government! https://t.co/p3mYEqwQtT

— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) September 28, 2023

He also recognized tech journalist Naomi Brockwell, who gave him permission to “use her name and example in court against the government” in the LBRY case.

The prominent crypto advocate recounted how 12,600 XRP holders, which subsequently surged to 75,000, joined him in filing a motion to intervene in the Ripple case as actual defendants.

“[…] What we had asked for had never been done in an SEC enforcement action. NEVER had thousands of investors petition a Court to be sued,” he said.

Although the judge denied the motion to intervene, she granted amici curiae status to XRP holders, Deaton said.

Deaton highlighted how XRP holders made a difference in the case. Out of the 3K exhibits submitted in the case, the judge only cited a few dozen, including the XRP holder affidavits.

Deaton Wins Argument Against SEC

Furthermore, Deaton mentioned that the SEC made a big deal out of the LBRY ruling. According to him, the agency argued that the LBRY judge declared LBC a security and did not distinguish secondary market sales made independent of the company.

However, with Brockwell’s permission, Deaton challenged and won the argument against the SEC. The LBRY judge clarified on January 30 that his ruling only applied to LBRY’s direct sales of LBC, adding that the decision is not applicable to secondary market transactions.

Judge Analisa Torres cited the LBRY verdict in her summary judgment decision in the Ripple lawsuit.

Deaton Says His Efforts Would’ve Been “a Fart in the Wind” Without XRP Holders

Meanwhile, Attorney Deaton said XRP holder affidavits would not have been cited in the Ripple case if XRP holders did not stand and fight for themselves.

He added that if Naomi had not permitted him to represent her in the LBRY case, Judge Torres would not have referenced the ruling in her summary decision.

“Without all of them, my efforts would’ve been a fart in the wind. So when I accepted this great award, I accepted it on behalf of all of them,” he added.