Deaton is a Massachusetts attorney who made a big name for himself in crypto markets after founding CryptoLaw. It’s a crypto news website with an extensive library of official documents related to cryptocurrency cases in US courts.

The crypto activist recently warned that meme coins like the new TRUMP tokens that have been going around may threaten cryptocurrency’s public relations image.

Deaton: Meme Coins Not A Good Look For Crypto

In an episode of the “Good Morning Crypto Show” that streamed on Monday, Jan. 20, Deaton suggested meme coins threaten crypto’s legitimacy. The Good Morning Crypto Show is a popular crypto podcast with over 198,000 subscribers on YouTube.

When the show host asked about the TRUMP coin, Deaton didn’t have any of it.

“I’m excited like everybody else. We’ve witnessed an absolute war against crypto, not just unjust, but unlawful,” Deaton said. “So I’m excited like everyone else. But I have a concern— in this country, sometimes we have the tendency to go from one extreme to the other extreme.”

“So we’ve had this completely unfair war against crypto,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean we want a complete free-for-all where there are no rules of the road or regulations whatsoever because users, consumers, and customers get taken advantage of. So we want smart regulations.”

“We fought for survival. The last five years we have fought for crypto’s survival. But now we have to not just survive— we have to fight for our legitimacy,” Deaton added. “If this becomes just a casino-gambling technology in the view of the public… it’s one extreme to the other.”

XRP’s Price Up 44% on 30-Day Window

At the height of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s war on Ripple Labs over its XRP tokens, Deaton lobbed powerful amicus briefs at the SEC’s lawyers. He also took to the digital town square on X to combat the SEC’s legal actions and definitions of crypto tokens like XRP.

He also ran against Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) for the US Senate in November but lost in a heavily Democratic state where she is a heavyweight incumbent.

XRP’s price on Wednesday notched a 1% gain to $3.23 after retracing from $3.27. The top 3 crypto by market cap was up 44% for the 30-day window.

TL;DR

• The SEC’s pending decision on Grayscale’s Solana ETF, due today, could have a major impact on the underlying token.
• The Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s plan to launch SOL and XRP futures on February 10 has already influenced the performance of the assets. The products (if they go live) may attract more institutional investors and positively influence both tokens in the long term.

The Potential Catalyst

Solana (SOL) has been among the top-performing cryptocurrencies in the last week, with its price soaring by over 20% for that timeframe. It reached a new all-time high of more than $285 on January 19, while currently, it trades just south of $250.

One important factor suggesting that the bull run may prevail is Grayscale’s intention to convert its Solana Trust Fund into an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The agency responsible for approving such filings in the US is the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Its initial decision deadline for Grayscale’s investment vehicle is set for today (January 23).

The recent shifts in the Commission’s leadership have caused some industry participants to speculate that the aforementioned ETF could receive the necessary green light. Up until January 20, the SEC was led by Gary Gensler, who was known as an enemy of the cryptocurrency industry. However, he stepped down on the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration, with the pro-crypto Mark Uyeda succeeding him at the helm. 

Other well-known companies that have filed to launch SOL ETFs on American soil include VanEck, 21Shares, Bitwise, and Canary Capital. The SEC has until January 25 to give its nod or deny those applications. 

It is important to note that the watchdog has the authority to extend its review period beyond the initial deadlines. This was a common policy during Gensler’s reign, and we have yet to see whether the agency will keep this practice after the changes at the top.

Nearly a year ago, the SEC approved a wave of spot Bitcoin ETFs for trade in the United States. The companies behind the funds included popular names such as BlackRock, Grayscale, Bitwise, Wisdom Tree, and others. The price of the primary cryptocurrency plunged after the announcement, but a few weeks later, it started pumping substantially. 

This might serve as a warning to investors that the potential launch of a spot Solana ETF in America could be generally beneficial for the valuation of the underlying asset but may also lead to enhanced volatility and a move to the downside in the short term.

The Additional Bullish Element

Another factor that could positively impact Solana’s price is the supposed plan of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to introduce SOL and XRP futures. The financial derivatives exchange is looking to do so on February 10. 

The news had an immediate impact on the prices of both assets. SOL pumped to as high as $270, whereas XRP briefly jumped to $3.28. 

The contracts (if approved) will allow people to speculate on the future price of the aforementioned assets without actually owning them. They may attract an additional number of investors into the Solana and Ripple ecosystems, possibly having a positive influence on the prices of their native tokens. 

Bitcoin’s price movements worsened in the past 24 hours as the asset lost the $105,000 level and dropped by about three grand.

The altcoins have also turned red on a daily scale, with ETH sliding to $2,300, DOGE dropping to $0.35, and ADA losing the $1 level.

BTC Slips

The weekend went quite favorably for the primary cryptocurrency, as its price remained above $100,000 during the TRUMP-token wild ride. The landscape was quite different on Monday, at least during the morning Asian trading session.

BTC headed south as the day started and dumped from $106,000 to just under $100,000. After this massive price decline, though, came the bounce-off, which propelled the cryptocurrency to over $109,000 for the first time ever.

Following the latest all-time high, bitcoin started to lose value, which culminated during the Trump inauguration speech. As he failed to mention crypto or bitcoin even once, BTC slumped by several grand once again.

Nevertheless, it recovered some ground on Wednesday and stood at around $105,000. The past 24 hours have been painful again, as BTC now sits at around $102,000. Its market cap has taken a hit, but it is still above $2 trillion, while the dominance over the alts is north of 55% on CG.

Alts in Red

Most alternative coins have headed south in the past 24 hours. Ethereum is close to breaking below $3,200 after a 2.6% daily decline. A similar decrease has pushed SOL to well below $250, while DOGE and ADA have dropped by more than 3%. Chainlink has lost the most value from the larger-cap alts, dropping by 6% to under $25.

Next in line in this adverse ranking are AVAX, SUI, and XLM, as well as PEPE, AAVE, VET, and CRO from the mid-cap alts.

The cumulative market capitalization of all cryptocurrency assets has seen just over $100 billion since yesterday and is down to $3.660 trillion on CG.