Pro-XRP lawyer warns Coinbase’s CEO, calls banks ‘enemy of the people’

Deaton Law Managing Partner and XRP enthusiast John Deaton has called banks the “enemy of the people” for meddling in the stablecoin market business. He made the remarks in response to a public outcry from Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, who claimed the financial institutions want to “kill USDC rewards” under the now-passed US GENIUS Act.

In a post on X early Tuesday morning, Deaton said he was glad Armstrong is “bullish on stablecoins” for fighting back against banks, but warned the Coinbase CEO about the institutions having a “hold on many Senators.”

Armstrong had released a short video clip explaining that after the successful passage of the GENIUS Act, which established a legal framework for stablecoins, the next hurdle was passing broader market structure reforms, fought by members of the US Senate.

“You probably all know that we got the Genius Act already passed into law for stablecoins, which is great,” Armstrong said. “The next step is we’ve got to get market structure passed. And I’ve actually never been more bullish on this getting through. We’ve already seen strong bipartisan support in the House. Now it’s being deliberated in the Senate.”

Coinbase CEO and Deaton agree on Senate sabotage theory

According to Armstrong, major US banks are attempting to reopen debates that lawmakers have already resolved. He warned that lobbying groups are pushing to ban stablecoin rewards, despite the issue being resolved in the GENIUS Act, which was signed into law by US President Trump.

Clear crypto rules are unstoppable, but big banks want another handout—this time by killing your USDC rewards under the GENIUS Act. They’re pushing to ban rewards to protect their monopoly. We’re fighting to ensure the Senate puts American consumers first.

Brian Armstrong CEO of… pic.twitter.com/g0qtf0nxTW

— 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸XRP (@BankXRP) September 29, 2025

“Banks are trying to relitigate issues that were already settled in the Genius Act to ban rewards on stablecoins, even though this is already settled into law. We’re making sure that the Senate knows that bailing out the big banks, which are having record profit margins at the expense of the American consumer, is not going to fly,” the CEO surmised.

He added that political consequences could follow, as millions of Americans are now actively involved in crypto markets. “That would be a foolish thing to do politically because there are 50 million Americans like you who have now used crypto and they want to make sure that they can actually earn more money with their money.”

Lawyer Deaton singled out Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey in his post, accusing him of siding with banks over consumers. The attorney mentioned Markey as one of the leaders who “sat back” during the 2008 global financial crisis when regular people lost their homes, but banks received taxpayer-funded bailouts.

“Ed Markey is one of the Senators bought and paid for by the Big Banks,” Deaton wrote. “After they caused the GFC of 2008, Ed Markey bailed the Banks out. Regular people lost their homes while the Bankers who caused it all got HUGE bonuses. Ed Markey definitely knows how to play the Washington game; he’s been there since 1976.”

Senate Blockchain Association throws accusations at Congress

The chatter around banks interfering with the Genius Act comes on the backdrop of a letter from the American Senate Blockchain Association published on Monday. The group, led by Senators Tim Scott and Elizabeth Warren, issued a letter to Congress, accusing banks of seeking to dismantle stablecoin legislation in order to preserve their business models.

“Big banks are dusting off a predictable playbook using the ‘loophole’ trope whenever there is competition. They claim that stablecoins will drain deposits, shrink credit, and cause banks to stop paying interest,” the letter read.

“These arguments are backwards. Indeed, ironically, the same mega banks that caused the 2008 crisis have since captured trillions of dollars in deposits and increased their market dominance at the expense of smaller banks.”

Data cited by the association shows US bank deposits totaling over $18 trillion. By comparison, the global stablecoin market is worth just $277 billion, a fraction of the banking industry’s size.

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