John Deaton senate
John Deaton attempted to dethrone Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren from the seat she has held for 11 years. John Deaton campaign website/screenshot

KEY POINTS

  • Crypto users are disappointed, but many believe the crypto lawyer's 'time will come'
  • There were concerns that AP supposedly called the race for Warren when no votes were counted yet
  • Several crypto leaders have also hinted that they will continue supporting Deaton's political journey

The cryptocurrency community heaped praise on Republican senatorial candidate for Massachusetts, John Deaton, after the Associated Press called the race for Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Voters in the state overwhelmingly handed the win to Warren, whom the crypto community has often called the industry's nemesis for her work on building an "anti-crypto army."

Crypto Users Pay Tribute to the GOP Challenger

Crypto users on X have since taken to X, expressing their sadness over Deaton's defeat, but also emphasizing that the former crypto lawyer put up a good fight in the lead-up to the elections.

Crypto researcher Ripple Van Winkle, who has a significant following on the Elon Musk-owned social media platform, called Deaton "a true inspiration" for challenging his senate-veteran Democratic foe.

"Your time will come," Van Winkle said, adding that Deaton and the crypto industry's "fight has just begun," indicating that the community may continue to support Deaton if he decides to run again in the future.

Stephen Chip, the co-founder of On The Chain, reminisced about how Deaton "absolutely took Warren down in the debates and gave it everything he had."

During one of the debates, Warren herself said her Republican foe will "fight for crypto" if he is elected into the Senate. Deaton, from the start, was very clear that he believes Bitcoin and the broader crypto sector will help the U.S. economy by catering to the unbanked population.

Crypto Wolf, a well-known figure in the XRP community, said Deaton deserves respect "for everything he's done," not just for the work he put into attempting to unseat Warren. Wolf may have referred to the former U.S. Marine's pro bono legal assistance to holders of the XRP token in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) against fintech firm Ripple.

Many other crypto users thanked Deaton for speaking up for the sector, with some also urging him to not give up on getting the voice of crypto heard in politics.

Did AP Make the Call Without Votes Counted?

Web3 media outlet Coinage raised an issue after AP declared the race for Warren, saying the call was made "with 0 votes officially counted."

At least one other crypto user also posted a similar screenshot, saying it was "mind boggling" that the AP already called the race when no votes were recorded at the time. The said user followed up his post an hour later, with 66.7% for Warren and 33.3% for Deaton, as per AP.

Warren Win, a Double-Edged Sword

Many crypto leaders were disappointed that Deaton couldn't unseat Warren, but Custodia Bank CEO Caitlin Long indicated that while the Dem senator may have won the votes, it was still a good thing that Deaton "ran & exposed Warren."

"History will be very unkind to her. Plus, she probably cost the Dems the presidency, if early returns hold tonight," Long added.

Other tech leaders have also hinted that they may continue to support Deaton should he decide to try politics again, including TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington and crypto executive Wayne Vaughan.

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